Pest Control Systems Research Articles

Natural enemy impacts on Bemisia tabaci (MEAM1) dominate plant quality effects in the cotton system

1. Plant quality (bottom‐up effects) and natural enemies (top‐down effects) affect herbivore performance. Furthermore, plant quality can also influence the impact of natural enemies.2. Lower plant quality through reduced irrigation increased the abundance of the cryptic species from the Bemisia tabaci complex [hereafter B. tabaci Middle East Asia Minor 1 (MEAM1)], but not its natural enemies on cotton. It was therefore predicted that lower plant quality would diminish the impact of natural enemies in regulating this herbivore.3. Over three cotton seasons, plant quality was manipulated via differential irrigation and natural enemy abundance with insecticides. Life tables were used to evaluate the impact of these factors on mortality of immature B. tabaci (MEAM1) over nine generations.4. Mortality of B. tabaci (MEAM1) was consistently affected by natural enemies but not by plant quality. This pattern was driven by high levels of sucking predation, which was the primary (key) factor associated with changes in immature mortality across all irrigation and natural enemy treatments. Dislodgement (chewing predation and weather) and parasitism contributed as key factors in some cases. Analyses also showed that elimination of sucking predation and dislodgement would have the greatest effect on overall mortality.5. The top‐down effects of natural enemies had dominant effects on populations of B. tabaci (MEAM1) relative to the bottom‐up effects of plant quality. Effects were primarily due to native generalist arthropod predators and not more host‐specific aphelinid parasitoids. The findings of this study demonstrate the important role of arthropod predators in population suppression and validate the importance of conservation biological control in this system for effective pest control.

Current status of pesticide use among rice farmers in Cambodia

Knowledge about the current status of pesticide use in Cambodia is critical to attempts to establish an effective pest control system. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to clarify pesticide use by farmers, the number and timing of pesticide applications, and the active ingredients of the pesticides used during rainy season cropping in three study areas in the Takeo (TK), Prey Veng (PV), and Svay Rieng (SR) provinces. The number of pesticide applications and the major active ingredients of those pesticides varied across these areas according to the pesticide package labels stored by farmers. Insecticides and growth activators were often used in TK and PV but were rarely used in SR, except for some herbicides. The farmers tended to apply more insecticides and fungicides, especially when they observed certain pests in their fields. When the three study areas were compared, pesticide application also seemed to depend on demographic profile, the varieties of the crops cultivated, and the reason for cultivation. These results will be useful for determining the optimal approach to pest management in Cambodia.

An eco-epidemic pest-natural enemy SI model in two patchy habitat with impulsive effect

In this paper, the dynamics of a pest-natural enemy model with impulsive diffusion of pest in two patchy habitat is studied by considering the disease in pest population with two classes: susceptible, infectious and the disease is transmitted from infected pest to susceptible pest and does not propagate to the natural enemy. To reduce the pest at a desired level, the infected pest and natural enemy are impulsively released in both the patches. In the analysis, it is obtained that the susceptible pest free periodic solution is locally asymptotically stable by exploiting the Floquet theory of impulsive differential equation and small amplitude perturbation skills. It is also globally asymptotically stable using comparison techniques of impulsive differential equations. The study shows that the infection incidence rates and impulsive techniques play an important role on the dynamics of pest control system. Moreover, a short impulse period and large releasing amount of infected pest and natural enemy are cause the extinction of pest population. Finally, numerical simulations are carried out to validate our theoretical findings.

A Dynamical Analysis of a Piecewise Smooth Pest Control SI Model

In this paper, we propose a piecewise smooth SI pest control system to model the process of spraying pesticides and releasing infectious pests. We assume that the pest population consists of susceptible pests and infectious pests, and that the disease spreads horizontally between pests. We take the susceptible pest as the control index on whether to implement chemical control and biological control strategies. Based on the theory of Filippov system, the sliding-mode domain and conditions for the existence of real equilibria, virtual equilibria, pseudo-equilibrium and boundary equilibria are given. Further, we show the global stability of real equilibria (or boundary equilibria) and pseudo-equilibrium. Our results can provide theoretical guidance for the problem of pest control.

Analysis and Development of Agent Architecture for Pest Control Systems

Abstract While developing the control system process in which robot performing various operations it is essential observance of many limitations. Currently, there are technological capabilities to take into account many factors in the estimating of the large amount of calculations associated with the existing of factors and constraints. It is known that there are many factors occur at random during the execution of operations. To solve the explicit and implicit factors it is necessary to improve the architecture of existing system. In this paper we analysis previously developed MAS, focusing on its architecture and its agents. As the result of analysis there found main indicators of MAS in terms of their structures, actions, parameters, type, number and purpose. Described the agent forming procedure, where it is carries out movements in a predetermined pattern. During the execution of tasks agent is in an environment, where it is meet different obstacles in form, type and level of complexity. Also we considered several obstacles avoidance algorithms. Presented architecture of the agents will be used in the multi-agent based pest control systems, which will be used in agriculture.

Benthos distribution modelling and its relevance for marine ecosystem management

AbstractMarine benthic ecosystems are difficult to monitor and assess, which is in contrast to modern ecosystem-based management requiring detailed information at all important ecological and anthropogenic impact levels. Ecosystem management needs to ensure a sustainable exploitation of marine resources as well as the protection of sensitive habitats, taking account of potential multiple-use conflicts and impacts over large spatial scales. The urgent need for large-scale spatial data on benthic species and communities resulted in an increasing application of distribution modelling (DM). The use of DM techniques enables to employ full spatial coverage data of environmental variables to predict benthic spatial distribution patterns. Especially, statistical DMs have opened new possibilities for ecosystem management applications, since they are straightforward and the outputs are easy to interpret and communicate. Mechanistic modelling techniques, targeting the fundamental niche of species, and Bayesian belief networks are the most promising to further improve DM performance in the marine realm. There are many actual and potential management applications of DMs in the marine benthic environment, these are (i) early warning systems for species invasion and pest control, (ii) to assess distribution probabilities of species to be protected, (iii) uses in monitoring design and spatial management frameworks (e.g. MPA designations), and (iv) establishing long-term ecosystem management measures (accounting for future climate-driven changes in the ecosystem). It is important to acknowledge also the limitations associated with DM applications in a marine management context as well as considering new areas for future DM developments. The knowledge of explanatory variables, for example, setting the basis for DM, will continue to be further developed: this includes both the abiotic (natural and anthropogenic) and the more pressing biotic (e.g. species interactions) aspects of the ecosystem. While the response variables on the other hand are often focused on species presence and some work undertaken on species abundances, it is equally important to consider, e.g. biological traits or benthic ecosystem functions in DM applications. Tools such as DMs are suitable to forecast the possible effects of climate change on benthic species distribution patterns and hence could help to steer present-day ecosystem management.

Development of an Automatic Sprayer Arm Control System for Unmanned Pest Control of Pear Trees

Development of an Automatic Sprayer Arm Control System for Unmanned Pest Control of Pear Trees

Laboratory testing of wood mouse and common vole sensitivity to bromadiolone, sodium selenite, and cellulose

Maintaining the numbers of wood mice and common voles at an acceptable economic level, especially during years of massive outbreaks, is a major challenge in plant protection. Efforts to reduce the negative effects of rodenticides on the environment, to improve the integrated pest control system, and to minimize risks for human and animal health require investigation of the potentials of cellulose, as a natural product, and sodium selenite as rodenticides. The present study was conducted to determine the sensitivity of these rodent species to bromadiolone (a.i. 0.005 %), sodium selenite (a.i. 0.1 and 0.05 %), and cellulose (a.i. 45 %) baits. All experiments were done using no-choice and choice feeding trials. A low acceptance of cellulose baits was found in the choice feeding trial, and the time of first deaths indicate that stress and hunger increase the death rate in both species. The taste had a negative impact on the acceptability of baits containing sodium selenite. Low bait acceptance of cellulose and sodium selenite resulted in lower mortality of both species. The acquired results indicate that bromadiolone remains a more effective solution than cellulose and sodium selenite for control of wood mice and common voles.

Bright Future with Nematicidal Phytochemicals

The environmental pollution with chemical pesticides became a serious problem in pest control systems around the world. Chemical nematicides are part of the environmental problems, and in the same time, are the basic and the first defense line utilize against phytoparasitic nematodes. Thus it was necessary to search about alternative sources could be used in integrated nematode management programs. Using plant parts in pest management is one of the oldest options for the human such as, chrysanthemum spp, Derris elliptical and Ryania speciosa. Nowadays, various phytochemicals that extracted from different plant parts such as alkaloids, glycosides, limonoids, quassinoids and even phenolics became a new and/or promising tools to use as fungicides, bactericides and nematicides.

Conspecific transmission of insecticidal adhesive powder through mating in the Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata

The Mediterranean fruit fly Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) (Diptera: Tephritidae) (medfly) is a polyphagous pest of global economic importance. This study tested the suitability of two different adhesive powders, EntostatTM and an adhesive metal powder, as insecticide carriers for use in a lure and kill pest control system, that would allow the auto-dissemination of insecticide from males to female conspecifics through sexual interactions. Lethal time to 50 % (LT50) irreversible knockdown was calculated for male and female medfly artificially contaminated by five different doses of spinosad insecticide, formulated with each adhesive carrier powder. The formulations with adhesive metal powder resulted in a rapid knockdown of medfly which was too fast for use in an auto-dissemination system. Entostat powder with 2 % spinosad gave the best performance, allowing sufficient time for transfer between conspecifics before knockdown and, therefore, allowing the most auto-dissemination (LT50 4 h). Knockdown through transfer of powder from males to females during mating was confirmed, with knockdown at 70–78 % for mated females, with a LT50 of <40 h. These results indicate that Entostat powder is a suitable carrier powder for the development of an insecticidal auto-dissemination control system.

A Theoretical Approach on Controlling Agricultural Pest by Biological Controls

In this paper we propose and analyze a prey-predator type dynamical system for pest control where prey population is treated as the pest. We consider two classes for the pest namely susceptible pest and infected pest and the predator population is the natural enemy of the pest. We also consider average delay for both the predation rate i.e. predation to the susceptible pest and infected pest. Considering a subsystem of original system in the absence of infection, we analyze the existence of all possible non-negative equilibria and their stability criteria for both the subsystem as well as the original system. We present the conditions for transcritical bifurcation and Hopf bifurcation in the disease free system. The theoretical evaluations are demonstrated through numerical simulations.

Analysis of the building system of four mills and their suitability for heat treatment pest disinfestation

The last century researchers at Kansas State University demonstrated the validity of the heat treatment as a method of pest control in more than 20 mills. However factors such as the high capital investment required to heat large buildings, inadequate control of high temperatures and the risk of damage to parts of the plants or the construction materials have prevented the large-scale adoption of this technique as a viable alternative to fumigants. Today the combination of the industrialization of the food industry, the technological and structural modernization of plants and developments in heat disinfection technologies have resulted in interesting results being obtained for the use of this system in primary and secondary production processing plants, both experimentally and in practice. However, the scientific literature highlights some of the factors that limit the efficiency of the treatment. This is related to aspects of the buildings and the plants and the environment of the buildings. The structure of the buildings appear to have an enormous impact on energy consumption, because this depends on the amount of heating time and the methods that have to be used when establishing a heat treatment regime. These factors are important if the fumigation temperatures are to be reached in the shortest possible time and can affect the choice of the technique used with current fumigants, especially when this is combined with the amount and cost of the energy consumed. The aim of this work is to analyse four Sicilians mills that intend to use the heat system for fumigation and pest control in order to identify those aspects of the buildings, plant and their environment which are “critical elements” and may discourage the use of this technology. Particular attention was paid to the type of construction materials and their thermal conductivity (roof, floors and walls), the number and volume of the buildings and the distance between them, the entrances and the links between different parts of the plant and the type of equipment used and its spatial organisation inside the buildings.

Fitness of Transgenic Mosquito Aedes aegypti Males Carrying a Dominant Lethal Genetic System

OX513A is a transgenic strain of Aedes aegypti engineered to carry a dominant, non-sex-specific, late-acting lethal genetic system that is repressed in the presence of tetracycline. It was designed for use in a sterile-insect (SIT) pest control system called RIDL® (Release of Insects carrying a Dominant Lethal gene) by which transgenic males are released in the field to mate with wild females; in the absence of tetracycline, the progeny from such matings will not survive. We investigated the mating fitness of OX513A in the laboratory. Male OX513A were as effective as Rockefeller (ROCK) males at inducing refractoriness to further mating in wild type females and there was no reduction in their ability to inseminate multiple females. They had a lower mating success but yielded more progeny than the wild-type comparator strain (ROCK) when one male of each strain was caged with a ROCK female. Mating success and fertility of groups of 10 males—with different ratios of RIDL to ROCK—competing for five ROCK females was similar, but the median longevity of RIDL males was somewhat (18%) lower. We conclude that the fitness under laboratory conditions of OX513A males carrying a tetracycline repressible lethal gene is comparable to that of males of the wild-type comparator strain.

Effects of non‐host plant odour on Meligethes aeneus during immigration to oilseed rape

AbstractThe use of semiochemicals for the manipulation of the pollen beetle, Meliethes aeneus (Fabricius) (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae), is being investigated for potential incorporation into a push‐pull strategy for this pest, which damages oilseed rape, Brassica napus L. (Brassicaceae), throughout Europe. Previous laboratory behavioural studies using volatiles from non‐host plants showed that M. aeneus is repelled by the odour of lavender, Lavendula angustifolia Mill. (Lamiaceae), essential oil. This article reports on semi‐field and field trials to investigate this behaviour under more realistic conditions. Semi‐field experiments were conducted to assess the relative importance of olfaction at different points in host location behaviour by M. aeneus. The results showed that oilseed rape plants treated with lavender odour were less colonised by M. aeneus in comparison with an untreated control, but that the treatment effect was much reduced if the lavender odour was applied after colonisation. The field experiment demonstrated that lavender odour caused a significant reduction in the number of adult M. aeneus infesting the oilseed rape plants in the treatment plots compared to the control plots. Overall, these findings are very encouraging for the future development of a push‐pull pest control system.

Analysis of the building system of four mills and their suitability for heat treatment pest disinfestation

The last century researchers at Kansas State University demonstrated the validity of the heat treatment as a method of pest control in more than 20 mills. However factors such as the high capital investment required to heat large buildings, inadequate control of high temperatures and the risk of damage to parts of the plants or the construction materials have prevented the large-scale adoption of this technique as a viable alternative to fumigants. Today the combination of the industrialization of the food industry, the technological and structural modernization of plants and developments in heat disinfection technologies have resulted in interesting results being obtained for the use of this system in primary and secondary production processing plants, both experimentally and in practice. However, the scientific literature highlights some of the factors that limit the efficiency of the treatment. This is related to aspects of the buildings and the plants and the environment of the buildings. The structure of the buildings appear to have an enormous impact on energy consumption, because this depends on the amount of heating time and the methods that have to be used when establishing a heat treatment regime. These factors are important if the fumigation temperatures are to be reached in the shortest possible time and can affect the choice of the technique used with current fumigants, especially when this is combined with the amount and cost of the energy consumed. The aim of this work is to analyse four Sicilians mills that intend to use the heat system for fumigation and pest control in order to identify those aspects of the buildings, plant and their environment which are “critical elements” and may discourage the use of this technology. Particular attention was paid to the type of construction materials and their thermal conductivity (roof, floors and walls), the number and volume of the buildings and the distance between them, the entrances and the links between different parts of the plant and the type of equipment used and its spatial organisation inside the buildings.

Biological pest control by investing crops in pests

We propose a biological pest control system that invests part of a crop in feeding a pest in a cage. The fed pest maintains a predator that attacks the pest in the target area (i.e., the area for storing or growing crops). The fed pest cannot leave the cage nor the target pest cannot enter the cage. The predator, however, can freely attack both the fed and target pests in the target area. By introducing a refuge in the cage against the predator for the fed pest, the fed pest and predator may be stably sustained. In this study, we analyzed the potential performance of this system by modeling the population dynamics of the target pest, fed pest, and predator as differential equations. First, we show analytically that the target pest can be suppressed at extremely low abundance by adjusting both refuge efficiency and crop investment. Second, we show numerically that crop damage by the pest may be effectively suppressed by investing only small amounts of the crop. Third, we show numerically that the magnitude of required crop investment can be estimated by an index comprising of the predator's searching cost for prey and the relative growth efficiency of the predator with respect to the pest. Even if the system structure is changed or its population dynamics is modeled based on host–parasitoid interactions, crop damage can be suppressed effectively by small amounts of crop investment.

Contribution of Islamic Thought to Modern Economics

If there is any problem in the production, these are Subsiedies , plantation and the process of proper allocation of the financial benefit to the farmer. In this district the main benefit got by the traders are so market linkage method. Another main problem is not to aware the proper pesticide an pest control system in the farm land . The problem is to the trader is the cold supply chain management system in the market.

Integrating Ecology and Technology to Create Innovative Pest Control Devices

Author(s): Blackie, Helen; MacMorran, Duncan; Murphy, Elaine; Smith, Des; Eason, Charles | Abstract: To achieve long-term suppression of pest populations, devices capable of continued control over extended timeframes are needed. Creating new pest management tools to achieve this goal requires the integration of animal ecology, toxicology, and design engineering. This research outlines the development and testing of a long-life, resetting, toxin delivery system for vertebrate pest control, coupled with advances in novel species recognition systems. Such devices have the potential to offer advantages over current labor-intensive control techniques. Resetting systems have been developed to target several of the most destructive vertebrate pest species in New Zealand, including stoats and weasels. Results of enclosure trials for these two species showed similar responses after a paste containing 40% para-aminopropiophenone was delivered onto the chest and stomach, following triggering by a treadle operated system. Both species groomed the paste off shortly after application and death occurred after an average of 42 minutes for stoats and 57 minutes for weasels. The applications of these resetting devices are now being extended for the control of brushtail possums, another major vertebrate pest in New Zealand. Coupled with this, developments in species identification systems are ensuring that risks to non-targets are substantially minimized. Resetting, long-life toxin delivery systems could be deployed to control a variety of pest species, and further enhancement of these tools are ensuring their use for widespread field applications in a cost-effective, safe and reliable manner.

黄色LEDパルス光を用いた秋ギクの害虫防除光源装置の開発&lt;br&gt;&amp;mdash;秋ギク生産に適用可能な放射照度の範囲の特定&amp;mdash;

黄色LEDパルス光を用いた秋ギクの害虫防除光源装置の開発&lt;br&gt;&amp;mdash;秋ギク生産に適用可能な放射照度の範囲の特定&amp;mdash;

Challenges and characteristics of the South American grain and oilseed postharvest system.

Concerning grain production, South America is divided in two main regions: 1) the Mercosur region (Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay) which produces more than 250 million tonnes of grains and oilseeds, and 2) the Andes Mountain region countries, which are net importers of these products. The main challenges related to grain postharvest that South America is facing are to minimize the quality and quantity losses; improve the food safety; enhance the capability for segregation and traceability of identity preserved (IP) grains; and incorporate technology to maintain the overall efficiency of the postharvest system. Among the critical points affecting the efficiency of the system are the shortage of permanent storage capacity; large storage structures which affects the segregation of IP grains; deficient transportation system (roads and railroads); poor management of integrated pest control system; and unsatisfied demand of formal and informal education in suitable grain postharvest technologies and practices. However, the region remains highly competitive in producing and delivering food for the rest of the world and it has demonstrated high capacity for incorporating cost efficient grain handling technologies. As a result, one of the main changes in the region was the appearance of the silobag system for temporary storage of dry grain and oilseeds. Each silobag can hold approximately 200 tonnes of wheat and with the available handling equipment is quite simple to load and unload. During the 2008 harvest season, more than 33 million tonnes of grain were stored in these plastic bags in Argentina (including corn, soybean, wheat, sunflower, malting barley, canola, cotton seed, rice, lentils, sorghum, beans and even fertilizers). The silobag technology is also being adopted not only in neighbor countries, but also in countries around the world such as the USA, Mexico, South Africa, Australia, Russia and Ukraine, among others.