Vacuuming tarnished plant bug on strawberry: a bench study of operational parameters versus insect behavior
2000
Vincent, Charles | Chagnon, Roger
A vacuum apparatus was used in a test bench environment to determine the effects of two operational parameters on vacuuming efficacy for an insect pest. Nymphs and adults of tarnished plant bug, Lygus lineolaris P. de. B. (Hemiptera: Miridae), marked with fluorescent powder, were positioned on strawberry plants according to three height classes. Three speeds of inlet passage (i.e., 2, 4 and 6 km h⁻¹) and two heights (passage at 2/3 and 3/3 of the canopy) of inlet relative to the top canopy of the plants were investigated. After vacuuming the marked insects remaining on the plants were then found using a UV light and the class height of their position on the plant and the substrate (i.e., soil, leaf, stem or fruit/flower) were noted. The efficacy of the vacuum was optimal when the inlet was passed at 4 km h⁻¹ with the inlet at a height of 2/3 of the strawberry canopy. Nymphs were usually vacuumed more efficiently than adults. Most (64.5%) individuals that were not vacuumed did not change position after inlet passage. Most (85.9%) individuals that changed position after inlet passage experienced vertical, mostly downward, movements.
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