PhD

- University of Douala, Cameroon, 2014 – 19 June 2020
- Title: Mathematical modelling, analysis and simulations to improve the control of Miridae, a cocoa pest
- HAL: tel-03122705
- Supervisors: S. Bowong, Y. Dumont, L. Bagny-Beilhe (CIRAD)
- Partners: CIRAD, IRAD
Context
- Cocoa: major cash crop – Cameroon: 5th largest producer
- Mirids Sahlbergella singularis
- feed on and damage young pods and shoots,
- most dangerous insects
- Control methods:
- insecticides; efficient but costly
- cropping practices
- mating disruption
- trapping
Objectives
- Represent the spatio-temporal evolution of damages caused by mirids in a cocoa plot
- Compare (bio)control strategies to reduce the pest population and the damages
- Set up new experiments and observations to validate hypotheses or estimate model parameters
Results
- Mirid population stage-structured dynamic models: with periodic parameters, or time-delays
- Model analysis: based on cooperative system theory, conditions for mirid persistence
- Mirid control: insecticide use could be reduced if applied at the appropriate period of the year; alternative methods, i.e. mating disruption and trapping, could also reduce the pest population
M. Djoukwe Tapi, L. Bagny Beihle, S. Bowong, Y. Dumont. Models for Miridae, a cocoa insect pest. Application in control strategies. Mathematical Methods in the Applied Sciences 41(18):8673-8696, 2018. DOI: 10.1002/mma.5063
M. Djoukwe Tapi, L. Bagny Beihle, Y. Dumont. Miridae control using sex-pheromone traps. Modeling, analysis and simulations. Nonlinear Analysis: Real World Applications 54:103082, 2020. DOI: 10.1016/j.nonrwa.2019.103082
Misc
- EPITAG visit in France
- May-July 2017
- Conference
- BIOMATH 2017, Kruger Park, south Africa. Poster. HAL: hal-01860858
- Career after PhD: lecturer, University of Douala, Cameroon, since 2020