Year: 2026
Type: dissertation
Abstract: This thesis proposes a new strategy against the difficult-to-control insect pest, the sweetpotato whitefly, Bemisia tabaci (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae), using a pest suction machine with the mechanism quite differs from those of previous pest suction machines, intended for implementation in tomato greenhouses.In Chapter 2, I described how the idea for a new pest suction machine was born.The new pest suction machine combines two elements to trap this pest with weak suction power: 1) "kick-out effect": an ultrasonic focusing device causes non-contact vibration on leaves, flying off the whitefly adults from host plants, 2) "attraction effect": LED light attract whitefly adults to the suction port and whitefly adults are trapped by two sticky plates and killed.In Chapter 3, I tested the LED wavelengths that were effective in attracting whitefly adults in summer and winter, and during the day and at night.Our experiments showed that 525 nm LED light (green) during the daytime in high-temperature seasons such as summer and 375 nm LED light (UVA) during the nighttime may effectively attract B. tabaci (biotype Q) adults.Because the developed suction machine was designed for daytime operation, the wavelength of the LED attached to the suction port was determined to be green LED light based on these experiments' results.In Chapter 4, the suction effects of the pest suction machine against the whitefly adults were investigated by dividing them into the "kick-out effect" and "attraction effect".The results of this experiment demonstrated that the "kick-out effect" provided by the ultrasonic focusing device alone is ineffective in attracting whitefly adults, but that the "attraction effect" provided by the green LED lights alone is effective.Furthermore, the simultaneous use of these devices was demonstrated to be significantly more effective at attracting whitefly adults than the use of the green LED lights alone.Moreover, this study also revealed some improvement points.A statistically significant difference was found in the effectiveness of green LED irradiation to trap whitefly adults.On the other hand, the "kick-out effect" of an ultrasonic focusing devise were not statistically significant.In order to improve the suction effect of new pest suction machine against whitefly adults, it is necessary to consider a more efficient kick-out mechanism.Furthermore, by improving the kick-out effect, it expected that the effectiveness in trapping whiteflies will improve.
Author: Saito, Chiharu
Language: English
Subfield: Insect Science
Domain: Life Sciences
SDG: Zero hunger
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7204251236