In agriculture, chemical insecticides are widely used to protect crops from insect pests. Over a period of years, some insects such as Colorado potato beetle （CPB） succeed in developing resistance to most of the reg...In agriculture, chemical insecticides are widely used to protect crops from insect pests. Over a period of years, some insects such as Colorado potato beetle （CPB） succeed in developing resistance to most of the registered chemical insecticides. Consequently, heavy applications of chemical insecticides to control this pest become ineffective on a long-term basis and can lead to serious health and environmental problems. The use of natural enemies to control CPB is an interesting alternative to chemical means However, hand release of predators is not feasible on a large scale in the field. The main objective of this research study was to design and build a test bench to investigate the technical feasibility of mechanically releasing predators. The test bench consisted of a vertical chain conveyor mounted on two vertical shafts driven by an electric motor. Since the predators are small and fragile, they were placed in a specially designed container to preserve their physical integrity. Trials using this test bench showed that a carrier material was required, because most of the predators remained inside the container. The success of this mass predator release system will be highly valuable for the biological control of insect pests in many crops.展开更多
The CPB （Colorado potato beetle） is unquestionably the major insect pest of potato crops in North America, Europe, and Asia. The use of chemical insecticides to control this insect pest started in the 1860s. To date...The CPB （Colorado potato beetle） is unquestionably the major insect pest of potato crops in North America, Europe, and Asia. The use of chemical insecticides to control this insect pest started in the 1860s. To date, no registered chemical has been capable of effectively managing this agricultural pest. Moreover, the CPB has developed over the years a resistance to most of the registered chemical insecticides. The biological control through manual release of natural enemies of the CPB has been successful at small scale. However, hand release of these predators at large scale is not realistic. The objective of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of controlling the CPB through mechanical release of predator insects under real conditions in a potato field. Obtained results indicate that the mechanical release of predator insects resulted in a better control of the CPB populations and egg masses than the manual release. The success of this mechanical release of predator insects in potato fields will be highly valuable for the biological control of insect pests in many other row crops such as strawberry, lettuce, etc..展开更多
文摘In agriculture, chemical insecticides are widely used to protect crops from insect pests. Over a period of years, some insects such as Colorado potato beetle （CPB） succeed in developing resistance to most of the registered chemical insecticides. Consequently, heavy applications of chemical insecticides to control this pest become ineffective on a long-term basis and can lead to serious health and environmental problems. The use of natural enemies to control CPB is an interesting alternative to chemical means However, hand release of predators is not feasible on a large scale in the field. The main objective of this research study was to design and build a test bench to investigate the technical feasibility of mechanically releasing predators. The test bench consisted of a vertical chain conveyor mounted on two vertical shafts driven by an electric motor. Since the predators are small and fragile, they were placed in a specially designed container to preserve their physical integrity. Trials using this test bench showed that a carrier material was required, because most of the predators remained inside the container. The success of this mass predator release system will be highly valuable for the biological control of insect pests in many crops.
文摘The CPB （Colorado potato beetle） is unquestionably the major insect pest of potato crops in North America, Europe, and Asia. The use of chemical insecticides to control this insect pest started in the 1860s. To date, no registered chemical has been capable of effectively managing this agricultural pest. Moreover, the CPB has developed over the years a resistance to most of the registered chemical insecticides. The biological control through manual release of natural enemies of the CPB has been successful at small scale. However, hand release of these predators at large scale is not realistic. The objective of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of controlling the CPB through mechanical release of predator insects under real conditions in a potato field. Obtained results indicate that the mechanical release of predator insects resulted in a better control of the CPB populations and egg masses than the manual release. The success of this mechanical release of predator insects in potato fields will be highly valuable for the biological control of insect pests in many other row crops such as strawberry, lettuce, etc..
