Mathematical modelling for sustainable aphid control in agriculture via intercropping

Abstract

Agricultural losses to pests represent an important challenge in a global warming scenario. Intercropping is an alternative farming practice that promotes pest control without the use of chemical pesticides. Here, we develop a mathematical model to study epidemic spreading and control in intercropped agricultural fields as a sustainable pest management tool for agriculture. The model combines the movement of aphids transmitting a virus in an agricultural field, the spatial distribution of plants in the intercropped field and the presence of ‘trap crops’ in an epidemiological susceptible–infected–removed model. Using this model, we study several intercropping arrangements without and with trap crops and find a new intercropping arrangement that may improve significantly pest management in agricultural fields with respect to the commonly used intercrop systems.