Feedback control for a class of pest management problems modeled by a noninteractively distributed system

A class of distributed-parameter optimal control problems whose system dynamics are more akin to those of systems of ordinary differential equations is presented together with a set of necessary conditions for optimality. It is shown that certain insect pest management problems fall within the ambit of this theory, which is then used to investigate the properties of the optimal pesticide application schedule and to synthesize a part-feedback control strategy. This latter strategy is presented in a way which makes it applicable to devising strategies for the application of pesticides in agricultural systems that are too complex to be easily modeled, but for which correlations are available between pest levels at certain points during the growing season and yield losses.