Electrostatic Insect Sweeper for Eliminating Whiteflies Colonizing Host Plants: A Complementary Pest Control Device in An Electric Field Screen-Guarded Greenhouse

Abstract

Our greenhouse tomatoes have suffered from attacks by viruliferous whiteflies Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) over the last 10 years. The fundamental countermeasure was the application of an electric field screen to the greenhouse windows to prevent their entry. However, while the protection was effective, it was incomplete, because of the lack of a guard at the greenhouse entrance area; in fact, the pests entered from the entrance door when workers entered and exited. To address this, we developed a portable electrostatic insect sweeper as a supplementary technique to the screen. In this sweeper, eight insulated conductor wires (ICWs) were arranged at constant intervals along a polyvinylchloride (PVC) pipe and covered with a cylindrical stainless net. The ICWs and metal net were linked to a DC voltage generator (operated by 3-V alkaline batteries) inside the grip and oppositely electrified to generate an electric field between them. Whiteflies on the plants were attracted to the sweeper that was gently slid along the leaves. This apparatus was easy to operate on-site in a greenhouse and enabled capture of the whiteflies detected during the routine care of the tomato plants. Using this apparatus, we caught all whiteflies that invaded the non-guarded entrance door and minimized the appearance and spread of the viral disease in tomato plants in the greenhouse.