Technical Feasibility of Pneumatic Control on Colorado Potato Beetle

Abstract

<jats:p>A front-mounted prototype designed to pneumatically remove Colorado potato beetles (CPB) from potato plants was tested in the field. Effects of different combinations of airflow velocities, nozzle widths, and travel speeds were investigated. Results showed that capture and dislodging of CPBs were better for adults and big larvae (L3 &amp; L4). On the other hand, neither the airflow width and velocity nor the travel speed affected significantly the dislodging and the collection of small larvae. Field trials on the removal of larvae under the effect of different travel speeds showed that, the slower the prototype moved, the better was the collection of L3-L4 larvae. This study demonstrates the potential of pneumatic control of adult and L3-L4 CPBs.</jats:p>

Vacuuming tarnished plant bug on strawberry: a bench study of operational parameters versus insect behavior

“…When the turbine is on, another mechanism may come into effect. Lacasse et al (1994Lacasse et al ( , 2000 proposed the concept of insect capture efficiency (i.e., the ratio of the number of individuals collected by the machine to the total number of individuals initially present on the plant) as the result of (1) the insect dislodging efficacy (i.e., % of individuals removed from the plants under the effect of air flow) and (2) the insect collection ratio (i.e., % of individuals picked up by any collecting device installed on the machine). While the first parameter is valid for our system, the latter does not apply because many parts of strawberry plants lie close to the soil and collecting devices would harm the plants or the fruit.…”

“…To circumvent the difficulties of field work and to extend the period of experimentation throughout the year an apparatus was designed by Khelifi et al (1992) to study the efficacy of a vacuum machine on the Colorado Potato Beetle, Leptinotarsa decemlineata, in a test bench environment. Their apparatus, fixed on a table, allowed the study of effects of air speed and position of insects on potato plants on efficacy of the machine and the modelling of air flows (Lacasse et al, 1994). Chagnon & Vincent (1996) designed an apparatus in a test bench environment that reproduced the physical attributes of the Biovac functioning on strawberry fields.…”