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Member Symposium

Widespread Communication in Science: Graphical Representation of Leading-edge Techniques

Safeguarding Bt cotton with experimental social science evidence

Sunday, November 10, 2024

3:55 PM – 4:05 PM MST

Location: Phoenix Convention Center, 127 C, PCC

Presenting Author(s)

Dominic Reisig

Professor and Extension Specialist
North Carolina State University
Plymouth, North Carolina

Co-Author(s)

GF

Greg Ferraro

North Carolina State University
Raleigh, North Carolina
ZB

Zach Brown

North Carolina State University, North Carolina

In the southern US, corn growers are mandated to plant a minimum of 20% of their acreage to non-Bt hybrids (refuge). In part, this helps delay bollworm Bt resistance in cotton. Previous efforts to boost refuge plantings failed, but a pilot study suggested emotional stories during in-person extension meetings might help. We conducted surveys and economic experiments during 2023 extension meetings to measure grower conditional cooperation (I'll cooperate if you do). Half received information on planting refuge, while the rest got the same information with a short emotional appeal. This region has a history of drainage management, with varying cooperation levels among farmers. We hypothesized that belonging to drainage management districts would make growers more conditionally cooperative and receptive to the emotional appeal. The group with the emotional appeal was 16% more likely to plant some refuge and 20% more likely to plant enough. Membership in a drainage management group significantly affected behavior during the experiment. Drainage management participants were three times more likely to be conditional cooperators and six times more likely to be altruists. They were more inclined to plant some refuge but didn't respond to the emotional appeal. In contrast, the emotional appeal had a bigger impact on less cooperative, individualistic groups. We believe that growers with higher conditional cooperation levels, especially in drainage management districts, are more open to area-wide management strategies. Social capital and emotional appeals have the potential to promote non-Bt corn refuge, thereby delaying insect resistance to Bt corn in the southern US.