Economics of Vermicompost, Vermicompost Tea, and Azadirachtin Nanopesticide for Integrated Nutrient and Pest Management for Sustainable Crop Rotations

Sustainable fresh sweetcorn-based rotations require nutrient- and pest-management inputs that are both agronomically effective and economically feasible. This study evaluated vermicompost (VC) and vermicompost tea (VCT) as nutrient-management inputs and an azadirachtin nanopesticide as a potential threshold-based pest-management intervention within an integrated management framework. Previously published agronomic, soil, fall armyworm, and nanopesticide data were used; no new field or efficacy experiments were conducted. The analysis compared VC-only, VCT-only, and integrated VC + VCT enterprises; developed partial budgets for the 2022 fresh sweetcorn–strawberry and 2024 fresh sweetcorn–soybean rotations; assessed VCT application intensity; and separately evaluated the economics of annualized nanopesticide production and price sensitivity. Under retail-market assumptions, VCT-only and VC + VCT production were economically favorable, with cost–benefit ratios (CBR) of 3.15 and 1.91, whereas VC-only production did not recover annual costs. In 2022, only the fertilized control and VC1 recovered the included fresh sweetcorn variable costs under six VCT applications, and VC1 generated the strongest subsequent strawberry and rotation-level returns. In 2024, VCT20 and VCT40 produced the highest fresh sweetcorn yields and achieved complete fall armyworm suppression, but neither fresh sweetcorn treatment nor a full rotation recovered the included costs. Subsequent soybean production generated positive partial-budget returns, with VC1 + VCT20 performing best. Lowering VCT volume or frequency increased the number of modeled scenarios that reached partial-budget break-even, while observed yield was held constant. Nanopesticide production generated an estimated annual net profit of USD 4378, a 3.1% margin, and a CBR of 1.032. Because the nanopesticide was not applied in the rotations, its integration remains prospective. These results should also be interpreted considering small-plot yield extrapolation, deterministic price assumptions, partial budgeting, and the availability of only two fresh sweetcorn experiments. These findings support moderate VC use, further field validation of lower-intensity VCT schedules, and evaluation of threshold-triggered nanopesticide intervention within an integrated decision-support framework.