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Herd immunity in crops? Lessons from human epidemiology.
Esther Kuper1, Mudassir Iqbal1, Åsa Lankinen1
1Department of Plant Protection Biology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Alnarp, 23456, Sweden.
Trends in Plant Science
|January 6, 2026
Summary
Herd immunity, typically seen in humans, can protect entire crop fields from disease. Diversified planting can reduce pathogen spread, benefiting the whole field even if only some plants are treated.
Area of Science:
- Agricultural science
- Plant pathology
- Epidemiology
Background:
- Herd immunity explains indirect disease protection in partly immune populations.
- This concept is seldom applied to agricultural crops, despite crop heterogeneity influencing pathogen transmission.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the potential for herd immunity in diversified crop fields.
- To demonstrate how treating individual plants can confer protection to the entire field.
Main Methods:
- Conceptual discussion of disease suppression in heterogeneous crop systems.
- Illustrative examples of herd immunity principles applied to agriculture.
Main Results:
- Crop heterogeneity can significantly reduce pathogen transmission within fields.
- Targeted treatment of individual plants can lead to widespread disease protection, akin to herd immunity.
Conclusions:
- The principles of herd immunity are applicable to agricultural settings.
- Diversified cropping systems offer a novel approach to managing plant diseases through indirect protection.
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