Optimizing crop clustering to minimize pathogen invasion in agriculture.

ABSTRACT: The initial rate of pathogen invasion in crops is influenced by the spatial clustering of susceptible crops and the characteristics of pathogen dispersal. Previous studies have shown that various degrees of crop clustering can effectively reduce this invasion rate. However, the optimal degrees of clustering that minimize pathogen invasion have not previously been identified. This study aims to determine analytically the range of crop clustering that minimizes the initial rate of pathogen invasion. We studied artificial agricultural landscapes with crop areas arranged in identical square clusters on a regular square lattice. For pathogen dispersal, we used several common dispersal kernels, including Gaussian, negative exponential, and power-law. The optimal degree of clustering, defined by

SUBMITTER: Suprunenko YF 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12783119 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature