Rf and Microwave Low Power Dielectric Heating Using Parallel Plate Applicator to Control Insect Pests on Tomato Plant

Abstract

Abstract-This paper focuses on electromagnetic exposure to control insect pests in agriculture using parallel plate applicator. A tomato plant and "Helicoverpa armigera" eggs and larvae are exposed to 915 MHz and 2450 MHz. A parallel plate applicator is fabricated and matched with Radio Frequency and Microwave source at 50 Ω. The power up to 250 W was applied to parallel plate applicator in an anechoic chamber to observe the behavior and heating effect on commodities inside the applicator. The rise in temperature of the tomato plant and tomato with insect pest stages were different for different dielectric properties. The reduction in the hatching was observed after the exposure. The first instar to fifth instar larvae erratic movement was observed during exposure. The faster response of heating was observed at the higher side of exposed power. The effect on the heating rate considering the variations in the space between two parallel plates of the applicator is analyzed in this research. The parallel plate capacitor is referred to as an applicator in this paper.

Dielectric heating for controlling field and storage insect pests in host plants and food products with varying moisture content

“…For many reasons, including the complexity of the wild environment, the influence of environmental conditions, the nature of the host plant, the biology and movement, and the sensitivity of different insect life stages, there has been little investment in the development of technologies based on dielectric heating to control field insects, in addition to challenges in designing reliability into high-frequency RF and microwave systems adapted to the host plant. Only two main field insect pests have been investigated in more detail, and the other affecting high moisture content crops [ 24 ], with one impacting low MC crops [ 129 ].…”

“…As reported in Refs. [ 24 , 26 ], a tomato plant affected by H. armigera is placed between the two parallel electrodes and exposed to a power of 250 W at 2.45 GHz and 915 MHz, with early egg hatching observed after 10 min of treatment, resulting in disturbance of the insect pest's life cycle. Interestingly, the study findings showed that the power level at 250 W used in the microwave treatment did not significantly affect the different H. armigera larval instars at either frequency ( Table 24 ).…”

“…The availability data from literature discusses two systems for field pest control: the industrial-scale Eco Palm Ring with an energy efficiency of 50 %, and a lab-scale two parallel plate system used to control Helicoverpa armigera , which has an energy efficiency of 25 % [ 24 ]. Effective field pest treatment requires systems tailored to the specific pest and host material [ 2 ].…”

“…In contrast, for pests affecting high-MC materials, the use of dielectric heating can compromise the host material quality. These materials are characterized by a high permittivity, rendering them more sensitive to electromagnetic (EM) energy [ 24 , 76 ]. This challenge made the technology more useful for insect pests in storage settings that often infest low-MC crops.…”

“…It has been suggested as a substitute for chemical fumigation for pest management in postharvest agricultural production, including against insect pests of walnut in storage settings [ 3 , [14] , [15] , [16] , [17] ] as well as the cowpea weevil ( Callosobruchus maculatus ), Indian meal moth ( Plodia interpunctella ) [ 18 ], and rice weevil ( Sitophilus oryzae ) [ 19 , 20 ]. Furthermore, microwave and RF heating have been investigated as nonchemical alternatives for controlling field insect pests, including the red palm weevil Rhynchophorus ferrugineus [ 2 , 4 , [21] , [22] , [23] ] and the African bollworm Helicoverpa armigera [ [24] , [25] , [26] ].…”