Entomology, Department of
Date of this Version
1996
Abstract
Decision making on control of the red sunflower seed weevil, Smicronyx fulvus LeConte, requires a reliable and efficient method for classifying the pest population. The objective of this study was to develop sequential sampling plans for red sunflower seed weevil control in oilseed sunflower. Sequential classification sampling plans were developed from Wald's sequential probability ratio test (SPRT) by using a negative binomial distribution. Operating characteristic and average sample number functions were computed for a range of k values. Two sampling plans were developed for the economic thresholds of six and eight weevils per sunflower head, based on a k value of 0.525. Compared to the fixed-sample-size plan that growers usc, the sequential sampling plans reduce the average size by 20% to 35% when the weevil population is low or high. The sequential sampling plans require significantly more samples as the weevil population densities approach the thresholds, suggesting that the fixed-sample-size plan does not provide the adequate precision in the densities near the thresholds.
Comments
Published in Journal of Agricultural Entomology 13(2): 139-147 (April 1996). Published by the South Carolina Entomological Society.