Rania A. Abd El-Wahab
Full Text PDF | diodes, drone, greenhouses, insects, mites.

Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) accentuated their effects against agricultural pests physically and biologically. The drone of embedded LEDs is utilized to spread the effect of LEDs colors with their different wavelengths at the wide area vastly.  LEDs were integrated with their supplements to the drone that is powered by solar energy and controlled through wireless protocol. The drone can cause high mortality ratios up to 80% as direct effect against the most certain pests. Insects with biting mouthparts such as Spodoptera littoralis was affected by white LEDs and showed 100 and 96.67% mortality against the second larval stage which infested cotton, while they caused 96.67 and 90% mortality against the fourth larval stage which infested potato. On the other hand, the both exposed larval stages of S.littoralis which infested cotton and potato were also affected by blue LEDs but lower than white LEDs. In the same trend, concerning piercing-sucking mouthparts insects, they were represented by two aphids, Aphis gossypii and Myzus persicae which showed generally the highest mortality percentages when exposed to white LEDs. Furthermore, exposed mites to the main LEDs colors showed almost different responses. White and blue LEDs caused 100 and 91.35% mortality, respectively, against the green form of Tetranychus urticae infested cowpea. The same occurred in case of Panonychus ulmi that infested apple with 100 and 87.04% mortality by the two colors of LEDs, respectively.  Conversely, the exposed red form of T. urticae infested strawberry, to both white and blue LEDs, showed 84.26 and 100% mortality. Besides, the drone with LEDs colors was able to control certain insects and mites biologically. By such simple structure, LEDs were able to increase the voracity of each categorical predator which can come and victual its prey more facile than occurred in control. Such mentioned mechanism is provided the indirect control that recorded 90% and more reduction of pests’ numbers. LEDs colors were facilely transmuted depending on the infested plant, pest, place and required mode of action of LEDs. Also, the olfactory responses of each used predator to the exposed pest to specific color of LEDs, was assessed and showed highly significant differences in comparable with control. To recapitulate, such drone can provide biological and physical betokens under greenhouses’ conditions to solve the quandary cognate to several agricultural pests effectively.

Current Trends in Natural Sciences

ISSN (online) 2284-953X
ISSN (CD-ROM) 2284-9521
ISSN-L 2284-9521
Publisher University of Pitesti, EUP