Background:
The use of mechanical tools and techniques is one the most effective, environmentally sound and cost-effective pest management approach to control insect pests. The present invention relates to an Insect light trap having insect sorting filters. It can be used for sampling and mass trapping of insects in crop fields. Light traps are the most widely used traps for the monitoring and trapping of agricultural insect pests. The light stimulus lures the flying insects particularly which are responding to the light source such as moths, flies, beetles etc. towards it and these insects fall down in the funnel kept below it and get collected into the insect collecting apparatus kept below it. The porous insect collecting apparatus provides automatic sieving and grading of insects into different categories, allowing the separation of micro-size insects, such as parasitoids, non-targeting insects from large-sized insects such as moths, crickets, flies etc. and can be easily sorted out in the insect collecting apparatus and these can be released back safely in the crop system. The harmful insects can be removed from the light trap unit and can be killed. Mass trapping of adults of both sexes of insect pests by light trap may help in minimizing their infestation in the field to a significant level. It will prove an important tool for an eco-friendly integrated pest management strategy:
Technology details:
The main aim of this tool is to safeguard the non-targeting and beneficial insect fauna from mortality while using the insect light trap technology in different crops. Regulation of pore sizes in the insect filter chamber of the trap may enhance its adaptability. In the long term, it may reduce a load of synthetic chemical pesticides thereby a step to encourage the adoption of traditional knowledge as an essential and alternate component of pest management for various agroecosystems. It will help in insect pests monitoring, taxonomic and mass trapping purposes:
Patents has already been granted by:
(i)Govt. of Australia:
(ii)Govt. of Vietnam and:
(iii)Govt. of Indonesia to ICAR-NCIPM: