Optimal control of a vectored plant disease model for a crop with continuous replanting

V. A. Bokil, L. J.S. Allen, M. J. Jeger, S. Lenhart

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

30 Scopus citations

Abstract

Vector-transmitted diseases of plants have had devastating effects on agricultural production worldwide, resulting in drastic reductions in yield for crops such as cotton, soybean, tomato, and cassava. Plant-vector-virus models with continuous replanting are investigated in terms of the effects of selection of cuttings, roguing, and insecticide use on disease prevalence in plants. Previous models are extended to include two replanting strategies: frequencyreplanting and abundance-replanting. In frequency-replanting, replanting of infected cuttings depends on the selection frequency parameter ε, whereas in abundance-replanting, replanting depends on plant abundance via a selection rate parameter also denoted as ε. The two models are analysed and new thresholds for disease elimination are defined for each model. Parameter values for cassava, whiteflies, and African cassava mosaic virus serve as a case study. A numerical sensitivity analysis illustrates how the equilibrium densities of healthy and infected plants vary with parameter values. Optimal control theory is used to investigate the effects of roguing and insecticide use with a goal of maximizing the healthy plants that are harvested. Differences in the control strategies in the two models are seen for large values of ε. Also, the combined strategy of roguing and insecticide use performs better than a single control.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)325-353
Number of pages29
JournalJournal of Biological Dynamics
Volume13
Issue numbersup1
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 15 2019

Keywords

  • Vectored plant disease
  • differential equations
  • optimal control
  • replanting strategies

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Optimal control of a vectored plant disease model for a crop with continuous replanting'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this