Modelling and control of a banana soilborne pest in a multi-seasonal framework

We study the infestation dynamics of banana or plantain plants by Radopholus similis, a plant-parasitic nematode that causes severe damages. Two control strategies are implemented in our model: pesticides, which are widely used, and fallows, which are more environmentally friendly. To represent the host-parasite dynamics, two semi-discrete models are proposed. During each cropping season, free nematodes enter the plant roots, on which they feed and reproduce. At the end of the cropping season, fruits are harvested. In the first model, the parent plant is cut down to be replaced by one of its suckers and pesticides are applied. In the second model, the parent plant is uprooted and a fallow period is introduced, inducing the decay of the free pest populations; at the beginning of the next cropping season, a pest-free vitroplant is planted. For both models, the effective reproduction number of pests is computed, assuming that the infestation dynamics are fast compared to the other processes, which leads to the model order reduction. Conditions on the pesticide load or the fallow duration are then derived to ensure the stability of the periodic pest free solution. Finally, numerical simulations illustrate these theoretical results.