Department of Life Science, Tunghai University, Taichung, Taiwan.
Department of Agrotechnology, Universitas Singaperbangsa Karawang, Karawang, Indonesia.
PLoS One. 2023 Aug 17;18(8):e0290262. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0290262. eCollection 2023.
Biting midge Forcipomyia taiwana is one of the common pests in East Asia. Their nuisance and blood-sucking behavior causes problems not only for human health but also for some industries. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of spraying alkaline water on controlling biting midge population and potential side effects of such approach on non-target organisms. Laboratory experiments were conducted to evaluate the effect of alkaline water on oviposition site preference of female biting midges as well as crickets. Effect of alkaline water on distribution pattern of earthworms was also examined. Besides, we also performed field manipulative studies by long term spraying of alkaline water to evaluate the effects on biting midge density, microalgae abundance and ground arthropod communities. The results of laboratory experiments showed that female biting midges laid significantly fewer eggs in surface treated with alkaline water. However, alkaline water treatment did not significantly affect the oviposition site choice of crickets and distribution pattern of earthworms. Result of field manipulations showed that long-term spraying of alkaline water could significantly reduce the abundance of soil microalgae and density of biting midges, but did not affect the diversity of non-target ground arthropods. These results demonstrate that long-term spraying of alkaline water could decrease biting midge density without harming co-existing non-target organisms and therefore is a potentially eco-friendly approach to control such pest.
刺吸式蚊虫是东亚地区常见的害虫之一。它们的骚扰和吸血行为不仅对人类健康造成问题，也对一些产业造成影响。本研究旨在评估喷洒碱性水对控制刺吸式蚊虫种群的效果，以及这种方法对非目标生物的潜在副作用。实验室实验用于评估碱性水对雌性刺吸式蚊虫和蟋蟀产卵场所偏好的影响。碱性水对蚯蚓分布模式的影响也进行了检验。此外，我们还进行了野外操纵研究，通过长期喷洒碱性水来评估对刺吸式蚊虫密度、土壤微藻丰度和地面节肢动物群落的影响。实验室实验结果表明，雌性刺吸式蚊虫在表面处理过的碱性水中产卵明显减少。然而，碱性水处理对蟋蟀的产卵场所选择和蚯蚓的分布模式没有显著影响。野外操纵的结果表明，长期喷洒碱性水可以显著降低土壤微藻的丰度和刺吸式蚊虫的密度，但不会影响非目标地面节肢动物的多样性。这些结果表明，长期喷洒碱性水可以降低刺吸式蚊虫的密度，而不会对共存的非目标生物造成伤害，因此是一种潜在的环保方法来控制这种害虫。
