Optimal Control of Vector-Virus-Plant Interactions: The Case of Potato Leafroll Virus Net Necrosis

This paper introduces a new specification to the economic pest management literature designed to optimally manage vector-virus-plant interactions for a single crop. The viral, insect-vector, and plant-host stocks are treated as renewable resources and conjunctively controlled in a discrete-time control framework subject to crop quality standards established in marketing contracts. The result is a conceptual integrated pest management model providing optimal insecticide scheduling and dynamic decision-making thresholds in a novel economic pest management context. Model results are compared qualitatively with those from previous specifications. The model is applied empirically to control potato leafroll virus net necrosis in commercial potato production. Copyright 2000, Oxford University Press.