Modeling the Insect-Vectors-Mediated Phytoplasm Transmission in Agroecosystems

Two models for the herbivore-insects-plants interactions are formulated, differing in the way the farmer’s behavior is accounted for. In the first one the farmer regularly checks the crop and possibly removes infected plants, reimplanting new healthy ones in their place. The second one instead considers a large crop where this behavior is not possible and where therefore the infection may propagate freely in it, via the action of insect vectors. Effector proteins are known to affect the insect-plant dynamics and their influence is here investigated. Although they cannot influence the ultimate ecosystem behavior, they do impact the speed at which the equilibria are attained, in some fortunate cases favoring a faster infection eradication.