Biological Systems Engineering Department, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA.
Department of Entomology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA.
J Econ Entomol. 2021 Oct 13;114(5):1910-1916. doi: 10.1093/jee/toab068.
Cranberry fruitworm (Acrobasis vaccinii Riley (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae)) and blackheaded fireworm (Rhopobota naevana Hubner (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae)) threaten cranberry production annually by causing significant fruit damage. Up to four pesticide applications are made each year to control these insects, which are costly to producers and elevate pesticide residues in fruit. Pheromone-based mating disruption technology can provide control of these pests in cranberry production, with the potential to minimize, or eliminate, pesticide applications. In 2016, an uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) was investigated to apply a thick paraffin emulsion containing insect sex pheromones. Traditional agricultural equipment is not capable of applying the paraffin emulsion to cranberry beds due to the product's viscous, paste-like consistency. The first objective of this study was to retrofit an UAV (octocopter) with a novel extrusion device that had been engineered to deliver the pheromone-loaded paraffin at regular intervals during flight. The second objective was to confirm adequate distribution of the pheromones by measuring the mating disruption efficacy by monitoring male moth trap catches. The UAV was able to fly autonomously along a prescribed itinerary, deploying the paraffin product uniformly; however, the increased mass of the retrofitted UAV limited flight times to ~12 min. The number of male cranberry fruitworm and blackheaded fireworm moths caught in lure-baited traps were reduced in the paraffin-treated beds compared with untreated beds, indicating adequate distribution of the pheromones. The UAV-applied pheromones concept could be developed into a production scale application method in the future, although issues of battery life and lifting capacity will need to be resolved.
蔓越莓实蝇（Acrobasis vaccinii Riley（鳞翅目：Pyralidae））和红头潜叶蛾（Rhopobota naevana Hubner（鳞翅目：Tortricidae））每年都会对蔓越莓的生产造成严重的果实损害，通过造成显著的果实损害来威胁蔓越莓的生产。为了控制这些害虫，每年需要进行多达四次的农药施用，这对生产者来说成本很高，并会导致水果中的农药残留升高。性信息素诱捕技术可以为蔓越莓生产提供这些害虫的防治，有可能减少或消除农药的施用。2016 年，研究了一种无人飞行器（UAV），以应用一种含有昆虫性信息素的厚石蜡乳液。由于产品的粘性、糊状稠度，传统的农业设备无法将石蜡乳液应用于蔓越莓床。本研究的第一个目标是用一种新的挤出装置对无人机（八旋翼飞行器）进行改装，该装置是为了在飞行过程中按规定的时间间隔输送负载性信息素的石蜡而设计的。第二个目标是通过监测雄蛾诱捕器的捕获量来确认信息素的充分分布，以监测交配干扰效果。UAV 能够沿着预定的航线自主飞行，均匀地释放石蜡产品；然而，改装后的 UAV 增加的质量将飞行时间限制在约 12 分钟。与未处理的床相比，在诱捕器中捕获的蔓越莓实蝇和红头潜叶蛾雄蛾数量减少，表明信息素分布均匀。未来，UAV 应用的信息素概念可以开发成一种生产规模的应用方法，尽管电池寿命和提升能力等问题仍需要解决。
