What are the Benefits and Costs of Pneumatic Insect Control?

Pneumatic insect control methods are acceptable under most organic standards. However, maintaining a balance between the crop and the pest species is the main strategy for control in organic systems. Cultural methods, proper crop nutrition, and crop rotation are considered the most effective means of keeping pest numbers below threshold levels. Pneumatic methods would be considered as secondary strategies only, for use when primary strategies fail to keep numbers below acceptable levels.

Pneumatic methods eliminate the risk of pesticide residues in the organic system and may alleviate the harmful effects of other control methods (e.g. tillage) on soil erosion and organic matter content. However, the effect of insect biology and environmental factors on the success of pneumatic control is not well understood, so control rates are often low and/or variable. There is also potential for crop damage at the airspeeds required for effective insect control. Working speeds of 6 - 10 km/h are possible with pneumatic equipment, but work rates may be slowed by the need to adjust the equipment for the height of the plants, the stage of insect development, and changes in the ground surface. Pneumatic control is also non-persistent, so even if adequate temporary control is achieved with a single equipment pass, repeated passes may still be necessary in order to cover the entire insect emergence period.

The high purchase cost would limit the usefulness of pneumatic equipment to farms with larger acreages. Prices for tractor mounted equipment range from approximately 14,000 $Can to 83,000 $Can (see Vincent and Boiteau 2001). Considering the variable control rates and reduced operating capacities with pneumatic equipment, and the suitability of pneumatic technology as an additional rather than a primary control strategy, such a high initial investment is likely to be unattractive to most growers. Also, because pneumatic control has not been widely successful, field scale equipment is now available only on custom order, although small scale models can still be ordered.

The ecological consequences of pneumatic methods will also be of interest to organic practitioners, since organic agriculture strives to provide a system that suits the practical needs of the farm while at the same time creating a minimum of negative ecological consequences. A major ecological limitation to pneumatic technologies in organic systems is their detrimental effect on non-target species. Pneumatic equipment will collect and destroy a variety of non-target species, including pollinators and beneficial insects. Also, since pneumatic equipment is fairly heavy, the risk of soil compaction is greater with this equipment, particularly since repeated passes are usually necessary for optimum control.

Benefits And Costs of Pneumatic Insect Control