High Frequency Destroy Pest Lamp: A viable tool for promoting green agriculture

Health hazards brought about by the use of chemical pesticides had recently been on important concern. Cotton, one of the country’s high value commercial crops, largely depends on chemical insecticides. With the growing concern for healthy products, there is a need to search for environment friendly yet affordable ways to control cotton pests.

The cotton bollworm, Helicoverpa armigera, is one of the most serious cotton pests in the country. Helicoverpa can reduce seed cottom yield by 37-92% and cotton farmers spend 35-47% of the production cost to control it (Pascua et al.).

In response to this concern, Solsoloy et al. (CRC) evaluated the effectiveness of the High Frequency Destroy Pest Lamp (HFDPL) from China in controlling bollworms and the effect of the light trap on the seedcotton yield. The project was conducted from December 2004 to May 2005. The HFDPL was a light trap made up of a high resonance bulb that attracts various winged insects and surrounded by high voltage wire that causes electrocution.

Findings

· The HFDPL was found effective in trapping ten insect orders. Furthermore, a significant reduction in bollworm population was observed.
· The cotton with the light trap had an average of 11.38 harvestable bolls/plant while the plant without the lamp had 9.68 bolls.
· The actual seed yield of the cotton plant with the light trap was 1,665 t/ha while the one without the trap was 1,387 t/ha. Thus, the average yield increase was 278 kg or around 20% when the light trap was used.
· Chemical spraying for the cotton plant with light trap was done only once during the 44-78 days after planting period. On the other hand, the one without light trap was sprayed three times. This resulted in savings of two spraying schedules or 6 man-days of labor.
· Partial budget analysis of the use of the light trap showed a net profit of about P7,000 over the use of chemical insecticides. Thus, the initial investment of P6,000 for the purchase of the lamp will be compensated by the yield increase and cost reduction in chemical insecticides and labor.

Results showed that the light trap technology can be adopted as an option for cotton pest management in the country. The high resonance bulb which can be easily imported from China, is durable with an estimated lifespan of 4-6 years and effective within 2-4 ha. However, it cannot be used in the areas without electricity.

The researchers recommended further evaluation of the light trap for other crops in the field and in storage. They also recommended the importation and marketing of the technology through private sector intervention.

Source: PCARRD, 2006. Highlights 2005, Los Banos, Laguna

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