Sensor‐Based Insecticide Spraying to Control Cereal Aphids and Preserve Lady Beetles

Abstract

Lady beetles (Coccinella septempunctata) are one of the most effective predators of aphids (Sitobion avenae). Therefore, the development of plant protection technologies that do not lead to their eradication within the field is necessary. With a sensor‐controlled field sprayer, which determined in real‐time the plant biomass of a heterogeneous winter wheat field and, based on these measurements, also controlled the amount of applied insecticide, a variable rate spraying program was implemented. The insecticide savings totaled 13.4% when compared to that of uniform spraying. An application of a high dosage led to a rapid die‐off of aphids. However, this same scenario did not occur in the areas that received a low dosage of insecticide. There, the aphids remained alive. It was observed that lady beetles colonized at first in these low dosage areas, where aphids were still present. Eventually 3 wk after insecticide application, aphids and lady beetles did not exist in the areas that received low insecticide dosages in the field. There, at this latter time the crop was mature. Now the aphids occurred in the high biomass areas, which were still green and not fully mature. The same scenario occurred for the lady beetles; as presence–absence sampling indicated that they followed their prey. The time‐dependent spatial variability of aphid and lady beetle occurrence were confirmed by GLIMMIX analysis which indicated a significant effect of the space–time interaction on their joint occurrence.

Precision Agriculture Technologies Positively Contributing to GHG Emissions Mitigation, Farm Productivity and Economics

“…Other work recorded pesticide use reduction in perennial crops between 28% and 70% [118][119][120][121]. VRPA can also cause reductions in insecticide use by 13.4% in winter wheat [122], while spray overlap can be significantly decreased with impact on the total pesticide use [123].…”

Sensor‐based outdoor monitoring of insects in arable crops for their precise control

“…The biological diversity of large fields is maintained and subsequently it promotes the capacity of biological pest control. For example, a sensor‐controlled on‐line variable rate insecticide spraying in winter wheat to combat the aphid Sitobion avenae resulted in insecticide savings of 13% 5 . In this study the sensor CROP‐Meter did not detect the insects or their damage directly, but its signal was correlated with biomass and LAI.…”

Precision Farming – Concepts and Perspectives

“…Other important component of precision agriculture, the pest-specific management has economic and environmental effects. In specific studies, it was reported that the variable rate spraying by sensor controlled technology reduced insecticide use by 13% on average while maintaining the biodiversity on agricultural fields (Dammer and Adamek, 2012). Considerable savings occur with fuel, seed, chemical and fertilizer.…”