Design and evaluation of facilities and equipment for mass production and field release of an insect parasite and an insect predator

Abstract

The integrated systems for production, distribution, and field release of an egg parasite, Trichogramma sp., and an egg larval predator, Chrysopa carnea Stephens, were analyzed with the aid of flow charts to establish priority engineering needs associated with a large scale field test in which programmed releases of these two beneficial insects were evaluated for control of the bollworm, Heliothis zea Boddie, and the tobacco budworm, Heliothis virescens F. Pilot production plant layouts were developed for rearing an insect host, the Angoumois grain moth, Sitotroga cerealella Oliver and for Trichogramma and Chrysopa. Using these plant layouts and the projected release goals for a large-scale field test, the space and capability requirements of a cotton insects biological control rearing laboratory and a field operations and distribution laboratory were determined. Facilities meeting these requirements were constructed and put into operation to furnish insects at the release sites as needed for the large scale test. The equipment for transporting the biological materials from the rearing laboratory to the field laboratory by surface and aerial methods for Trichogramma and Chrysopa were developed and evaluated. The Trichogramma ground-release and aerial-release evaluation involved 70 and 1596 acres of cotton, respectively. The Chrysopa ground-release and aerial-release evaluation tests on 31 and 60 acres of cotton, respectively. This engineering research contributed to the reduction of the cost of rearing, distributing, and releasing beneficial insects involved in this pilot test. The results further indicate that many of the operations involved in such cotton insect pest management systems can be mechanized without significant injury to or loss of effectiveness of the beneficial insects.