Environmental News Network - Computer Models Estimate Movements of Agricultural Pests

Details: By Fundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo; 20.Feb

The Fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda), a lepidopteran pest that feeds on leaves and stems of as many as 100 plant species, is able to hop between different crops and cause serious damage due to its resistance to both insecticides and transgenic plants that are genetically engineered to express proteins with insecticidal action obtained from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis Berliner (Bt).

Julie Swatson

To better understand how this and other insects disperse in agricultural areas, so that farmers can manage them more effectively, researchers at the University of São Paulo’s Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture (ESALQ-USP), in collaboration with colleagues at São Paulo State University (UNESP) in Botucatu, Brazil, have developed mathematical models to describe the movements of agricultural pests.

Some of the most recent results of the study, which is supported by FAPESP, have been published in Scientific Reports.

“The idea is to use computer models to design strategies capable of reducing the damage done to crops by pest populations and containing their expansion on plantations,” said Wesley Augusto Conde Godoy, a professor at ESALQ-USP and principal investigator for the project, in an interview given to Agência FAPESP.

Image: Technology developed by researchers at two Brazilian universities could help manage crop-attacking insects more effectively (Credit: Wesley Augusto Conde Godoy / ESALQ-USP)

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Computer Models Estimate Movements of Agricultural Pests