ARS | Publication request: "KISS" - A NEW PORTABLE PNEUMATIC "KEEP IT SIMPLE SAMPLER" FOR ROW CROP INSECTS

Submitted to: National Cotton Council Beltwide Cotton Conference
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: January 15, 1997
Publication Date: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Farmers, crop consultants, and pest management research scientists must perform in-field sampling of cotton to determine the presence of both pest and beneficial insects in order to make informed pest management decisions and/or evaluate the effects of various pest control practices. Such sampling is usually done with manual sweep nets or by visual examinations of individual plants, which is very tedious and labor intensive. A conventional engine-driven leaf blower was modified with the addition of a metal frame to support an insect collection net in front of the blower outlet nozzle to form a Keep It Simple Sampler (KISS) for row crop insects. In field operation, the KISS is hand carried along a row of plants with the blower outlet positioned so that the plants pass between the blower nozzle and the inlet of the insect net. High speed air at about 150 miles per hour from the blower dislodges insects from the plants and carries them into the collection net. Insect collection efficiency of the KISS in youn prebloom cotton is high, and with its use the efficiencies of field scouting for insects can be increased by more than ten fold.

Technical Abstract: The KISS, a keep-it-simple pneumatic insect sampling device, was constructed by modifying a conventional engine-driven leaf blower with the addition of a metal frame to support an insect collection net in front of the blower outlet nozzle. In field operation, the KISS is hand-carried along a row of plants with the blower outlet positioned so that the plants pass between the blower nozzle and the inlet of the insect net. High spee air at about 150 mph from the blower dislodges insects from the plants and carries them into the net. Research results indicate that the collection efficiency of the KISS for boll weevils in early season cotton is high, and that, compared to hand sampling, the efficiencies of field scouting for this insect can be increased by about ten fold with the use of the mechanical device. Other sampling and collection applications for the KISS are described.