A decision model is developed by adopting two control techniques, combining cultural methods and pesticides in a hybrid approach. To control the adverse effects in the long term and to be able to evaluate the extensive use of pesticides on the environment and nearby ecosystems, the novel decision model assumes the use of pesticides only in an emergency situation. We, therefore, formulate a rice-pest-control model by rigorously modelling a rice-pest system and including the decision model and control techniques. The model is then extended to become an optimal control system with an objective function that minimizes the annual losses of rice by controlling insect pest infestations and simultaneously reduce the adverse impacts of pesticides on the environment and nearby ecosystems. This rice-pest-control model is verified by analysis, obtains the necessary conditions for optimality, and confirms our main results numerically. The rice-pest system is verified by stability analysis at equilibrium points and shows transcritical bifurcations indicative of acceptable thresholds for insect pests to demonstrate the pest control strategy.
Keywords: Decision model; Integrated pest management; Lotka-Volterra model; Nonlinear dynamics; Optimal control; Predator-prey.
©2023 Mandal et al.