The relative Control Values of different Percentage Mortalities

Abstract

Percentage mortality by itself is not a good measure of the practical value of an insecticidal treatment. In a relatively simple case, such as the fumigation of stored products, the control value can be expressed in terms of the time required for the reduced population to return to its former level of density, provided the mode of increase of the population is known.Assuming that increase is at a regular exponential rate, the control values of different mortality percentages can be compared in terms of the calculated recovery times; thus, each of the values in the series 99·6, 93·75, 75, 50 and 29 per cent. mortality is twice as good as the one that follows it. Such relationships can be deduced from the graph provided, which is essentially a curve of constant exponential growth, made linear by the use of the logarithmic scale.The above comparisons do not depend on the value of the constant rate of increase. If the rate of increase varies, control values can still be compared so long as it is possible to calculate the relative times needed for recovery from different levels of density.