Large reductions in
pesticides made possible by use of an insect-trapping lamp: a case
study in a winter wheat-summer maize rotation system.
Guo
L1,2, Muminov MA1,2, Wu
G1, Liang X1, Li
C1, Meng J1, Li
L1,2, Cheng D1,2, Song
Y1,2, Gu X1,2, Zhao
J3, Jiang G1,2.
1 State Key
Laboratory of Vegetation and Environment Change, Institute of
Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
2 College
of Resources and Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing,
China.
3 Henan
Yuanlin Agriculture Development Co., Ltd, Zhengzhou, Henan,
China.
Pest
Management Science, 74:
1728-1735 (IF=3.253)
BACKGROUND: Increasing
attention is being paid to physical methods to control pests such
as insect trapping. In order to examine how pesticides can
reasonably be combined with the use of an insect-trapping lamp and
by how much this can reduce the amount of pesticide used, five
treatments were applied to a winter wheat-summer maize rotation
system in eastern China: a treatment in which only pesticides were
used; a treatment with only insect-trapping lamps; insect-trapping
lamps plus one application of pesticides; insect-trapping lamps
plus two applications of pesticides; insect-trapping lamps plus
three applications of pesticides.
RESULTS: The results
showed that, when pesticides were reduced by 25-35%, the
insect-trapping lamps controlled the insect population well and
yields were not decreased but were actually increased, with
pesticides being applied only at 2 days before winter wheat
planting, at winter wheat flowering and at the big flare stage of
summer maize. Reducing pesticides by 35-65% had no adverse effect
on crop yields, and thus had the potential to reduce the costs of
pest control and produce the greatest economic benefit. When no
pesticides were used in the insect-trapping lamp control area, the
annual yield was still >15 t
hm-2 .
CONCLUSION: If pesticides
are used in a timely fashion and at the appropriate stage, their
use may be greatly reduced with the help of an insect-trapping
lamp.