Textile Physical Barriers against the Chestnut Gall Wasp Dryocosmus kuriphilus

Abstract

Dryocosmus kuriphilus Yasumatsu is a species originating from China that, during the 20th century, has spread rapidly throughout many countries, affecting mainly different species of the genus Castanea spp. In fact, it is considered to be the most important pest of chestnut trees (Castanea sativa Miller), causing significant production losses. The adoption of complementary measures to chemical and biological controls would contribute to the control of the pest. In this sense, the use of textile physical barriers could prevent the rapid spread of this species among the production centers. Therefore, the objective of this study is to define the characteristics of a textile that protects young plants that have been produced in nurseries. For this purpose, some commercial textiles have been selected based on the morphometric characterization of the species and these textiles have been accurately measured in order to compare their dimensions with those of the insects. Finally, tests have been carried out in order to measure the efficacy of the textiles under laboratory conditions, controlling the air velocity and the temperature. The results reveal that, in general, theoretical efficacy may not be a good predictor of practical results. A fully effective screen has been found against this species and its design characteristics can be used as a starting point for new, more optimized designs.

Semi-analytical calculation of pore-related parameters of wire/woven screens

“…As the area of these "holes" is not the projected surface but a 3D deformation of it (which is larger than its projection), in this work two mathematical approaches are proposed to estimate the actual area. Following this approach, Álvarez&Oliva [32] used this accurate calculation of the 3D area of the pore hole to find a completely effective woven screen to protect crops from the entrance of an specific size insect (Chestnut Gall Wasp). The aim was to use insect-proof screens with smaller 3D hole areas than the insect thorax and abdomen size.…”

Improvements in the Characterisation of Permeability and Inertial Factor of Insect-Proof Screens through Pressure Drop Coefficients

“…For instance, they are used in greenhouses at the southeast of the Spanish peninsula [2], where IPSs are placed in ventilation openings. Thanks to the installation of IPSs, harmful insects are prevented from entering [3,4] and beneficial insects are prevented from leaving [3]. The main drawback of its use is the reduction of natural ventilation capacity in greenhouses [5][6][7], due to the significant pressure drop caused by their presence [1] also leads to a drastic reduction in airflow energy passing through the IPS [8].…”