Changes in Agricultural Crop Connectivity and Disease Susceptibility over the Last Century

U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Kansas State University, University of Missouri

This map examines soybean and corn crop connectivity in the United States, as it relates to disease transmission, for several time periods over the preceding century. Using graph theory, a number of thresholds for disease transmission are shown in map form while a discussion of the factors that have influenced connectivity and the transmission of disease is presented.

Different regions of the United States show changes in crop planting patterns over time, as soybeans became more widely accepted and crop technology improved. When the networks are examined through a gamma index metric, the range of values suggest that crop connectivity and disease susceptibility has increased over the century.

Courtesy of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Kansas State University, and the University of Missouri.

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