A reaction–diffusion model for the control of Eldana saccharina Walker in sugarcane using the sterile insect technique

• Published in: Ecological modelling Vol. 250; pp. 319 - 328
• Main Authors: Potgieter, L., van Vuuren, J.H., Conlong, D.E.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier B.V 10.02.2013; Elsevier
• Subjects: Animal and plant ecology; Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Biological and medical sciences; Demecology; Eldana saccharina; Eldana saccharina Walker; females; field experimentation; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; General aspects; General aspects. Techniques; guidelines; integrated pest management; males; Methods and techniques (sampling, tagging, trapping, modelling...); moths; Pest control; pests; Population dynamics; population growth; Reaction–diffusion model; Sterile insect technique; Sugarcane; Eldana saccharina Walker; Pest control; Reaction–diffusion model; Population dynamics; Sterile insect technique; Sugarcane; Monocotyledones; Insecta; Sterile animal release; Eldana saccharina; Reaction-diffusion model; Pyralidae; Pest management; Saccharum officinarum; Gramineae; Arthropoda; Angiospermae; Lepidoptera; Spermatophyta; Models; Invertebrata; Diffusion
• ISSN: 0304-3800; 1872-7026
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2012.11.019

► An Eldana saccharina insect population under the influence of SIT is modelled. ► SIT in a temporally variable and spatially heterogeneous environment is examined. ► The effect of dispersal on SIT is examined. ► The efficiency of different ATV release methods are determined. ► Distances between release lanes whereby suppression may be obtained are estimated. A reaction–diffusion model is formulated for the population dynamics of an Eldana saccharina Walker infestation of sugarcane under the influence of partially sterile released insects. The model describes the population growth of and interaction between normal and sterile E. saccharina moths in a temporally variable and spatially heterogeneous environment. It consists of a discretized reaction–diffusion system with variable diffusion coefficients, subject to strictly positive initial data and zero-flux Neumann boundary conditions on a bounded spatial domain. The primary objectives are to establish a model which may be used within an area-wide integrated pest management programme for E. saccharina in order to investigate the efficiency of different sterile moth release strategies without having to conduct formal field experiments, and to present guidelines according to which release ratios, release frequencies and spatial distributions of releases may be estimated which are expected to lead to suppression of the pest. Although many reaction–diffusion models have been formulated in the literature describing the sterile insect technique, few of these models describe the technique for Lepidopteran species with more than one life stage and where F1-sterility is relevant. In addition, none of these models consider the technique when fully sterile females and partially sterile males are released. The model formulated here is also the first reaction–diffusion model formulated describing E. saccharina growth and migration, and the sterile insect technique applied specifically to E. saccharina.