Maged E.A. Mohammed, Hamadttu A.F. El-Shafie and Mohammed Bin Refdan Al-Hajhoj
Abstract
Conventional light traps are widely used in the field to manage major coleopteran and lepidopteran insect pests of date palm. A solar-powered insect light trap was designed, fabricated, and evaluated in order to improve trapping efficiency. Three light sources with different wavelengths weretested; namely ultraviolet (UV-A) black light fluorescent tubes (BLF) with 350-400 nm wavelength, white compact fluorescent light bulb (CFL) with 400-500 nm wavelength, and light-emitting diode bulb (LED) consisted of different wavelengths of 633 nm Red, 585 nm Yellow, 560 nm Pure Green, and 470 nm Blue. Additionally, two trap heights namely 155 cm and 195 cm were also included in experiments as factors affecting the light trap efficiency. The relative catch of insects by the three light sources was used to evaluate the performance of the designed trap. BLF tubes, attracted more insects than CFL and LED bulbs. There was no significant difference in attraction percentage between LED bulbs and CFL bulbs for Lepidoptera and frond borer; however, LED bulbs were significantly more efficacious in collecting Coleoptera and dynastid beetles. The short trap of 155cm height attracted statistically fewer Coleoptera, dynastid beetle, and frond borer than the long trap of 195cm height at all types of light source, however, there was no significant difference in the mean number of attracted longhorn beetle and Lepidoptera. The designed trap could provide a potential component for future IPM of major insect pests in date palm agro ecosystem.