Modelling the effect of fusarium oxysporum in transmission dynamics of fusarium wilt disease of cashew plants in context of South-Eastern Tanzania

Abstract

Cashew nuts are the most important cash crop in Tanzania's south-eastern region, where cashew nut farming is the primary source of income for the majority of people. Aside from their importance, cashew plants are vulnerable to Fusarium wilt, a devastating disease. In particular study a system of equations for the model is formulated and analyzed qualitatively using the stability theorem of ordinary differential equation. The stability analysis indicates that the system is stable under the specified conditions. Furthermore, the analysis shows that an increase in transmission is determined by the rate of contact between susceptible plants and infected plants via root contact, whereas numerical results show that decomposed infected plants contribute to the growth of Fusarium oxysporum, increasing the disease outbreak.