A green LED technique has reduced beet armyworm infestations by 40 percent and boosted spring onion production by up to 20 percent, the Taiwan Agricultural Research Institute’s Fengshan Tropical Horticultural Experiment Branch said last week.
Beet armyworms have proliferated across spring onion farmland in Yilan County over the past few years, as climate anomalies led to reduced rainfall in summers, branch director Lee Wen-li (李文立) said.
Spring onion leaves nibbled by beet armyworms have holes or white marks, which seriously decrease their commercial value and cause huge financial losses, Lee said, adding that pesticides are not effective, as the larvae hide in the pipe-shaped leaves.
Photo courtesy of the Taiwan Agricultural Research Institute’s Fengshan Tropical Horticultural Experiment Branch
Lin Tung-hai (林東海), a grower of spring onions based in Yilan County, said that many agricultural workers in Sansing Township (三星) have refrained from planting the crop due to infestations.
“We used to boast 400 hectares [of spring onion planting area], but it is down to 150 hectares,” Lin said.
Branch associate researcher Fang Hsin-hsiu (方信秀), whose work has shown that green LEDs can prevent lychees from being damaged by litchi fruit borers, has also found that beet armyworm could be kept inactive at night by the light, as the larvae are nocturnal, just as the borers are.
The LED technique was applied to green onion farms in Sansing and reduced crop damage by beet armyworms by about 40 percent after three years of experimentation, Fang said.
Branch assistant researcher Lee Hsiang-yi (李香誼) said that the technique boosted production by up to 20 percent.
The technique also reduced pesticide use by 40 percent, Lee Wen-li said.
Although installation of the LED system costs about NT$15,000 per 1,000m2, with higher electricity bills on top of that, the cost is largely offset by reduced expenditure on pesticides, he said, adding that the technique is expected to boost revenue by NT$50,000 per 1,000m2.
The technique could reduce beet armyworm activity by about 50 percent, Lin said, adding that he would consider the investment rewarding as long as the boost in spring onion production covers the costs.
Additional reporting by Chen Wen-chan
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