LED technology is proving to be a powerful and environmentally-friendly solution to tackle one of the biggest pests in tomato cultivation, which can cause extensive damage, especially in greenhouses: Tuta absoluta.

"Given the problems faced by growers with this crop and the need to offer new solutions, since the use of existing phytosanitary products is becoming more and more restricted and less effective and traditional methods or biological control also have their limitations, we developed Biocaptur," says Antonio Tortosa.

"Biocaptur is a device made possible by the technological advances in LED lighting. By experimenting with different wavelengths with light-emitting diodes, we found the specific electromagnetic radiation that attracts the Tuta absoluta, and with it, we managed to attract the Tuta moths during their most active phase, at night, and suck them in, eliminating the Tuta populations in a mechanical and environmentally-friendly way, with excellent results."

This has been confirmed by producers who have tested the Biocaptur devices, such as Francisco Fernández, a tomato grower in the municipality of Vícar. "When I acquired the two Biocaptur units, the Tuta was already present. In fact, it's been there since the tomatoes were planted, and my experience has been very positive. In a matter of a few days, the change was significant, to the point of having zero Tuta in the greenhouse after little more than a week."

"Until then I had been sulphating and using pheromone traps, but apart from the expense and labor involved, I had the problem that the sexual confusion pheromones led to the creation of population pockets. However, since I installed the Biocaptur devices in February, I have had almost no costs. I have only needed one Nesis treatment for another pest, and throughout the season I have kept my plants clean, without any traces of worms, and the tomatoes haven't been bitten into."

"Many growers from the area have come to see my plot and some of them have had to throw away a large part of their productions because they were affected by Tuta," says Francisco. "In my experience, I recommend using Biocaptur even before the planting, to avoid problems from the very start."

Not only for Tuta, and not only for tomatoes
Making use of light radiation and the capacity to modulate the power and wavelengths provided by LED technology, "we have seen that light is a weakness for pests, and not only for Tuta absoluta, but for nocturnal lepidoptera in general," says Antonio.

"To be more specific, we have seen the effectiveness of Biocaptur on caterpillar pests like Spodopteraexigua, Spodoptera littoralis and Helicoverpa armigera, better known as the pepper worm; in fact, we have sold 80 devices to a company in Murcia that was affected by this pest and the results have been unbeatable. We are currently also working on new light configurations to capture whitefly."

Many crops, both horticultural and ornamental, benefit from this patented technology. Jesús Moreno, from the olive tree nursery and rose breeder Plantas Continental, says: "In the 3 weeks that we used it in the olive tree greenhouse we didn't carry out any treatments against lepidoptera, and the same can be said of the 4 months since it was implemented in the rose greenhouse, where several treatments would have normally been needed."

New model S60
Biocaptur is now launching its new, more compact and powerful S60 model, with an operating area per unit of 5,000 m², and its Optimize version for areas of up to 3,000 m². "The new S60 model has new functionalities. It has multi-purpose lighting, can be equipped with a motor that allows it to rotate at a frequency of 360º and can be programmed and activated remotely and automatically, as it can be fitted with light sensors."

"It can also include a GPS anti-theft device, shielded inside the motor, which is activated when the equipment moves more than 30 meters from its position and sends an alarm to the owner or its manager, allowing the location of the device to be known at all times so that it can be recovered."

"Biocaptur has been designed to combat pests effectively and in an environmentally-friendly manner, but also to last."

Source - https://www.freshplaza.com