AUTOMATED UAV-BASED SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT TO ESTABLISH ENCAPSULATED ENTOMOPHAGES FOR PEST CONTROL IN KAZAKHSTAN

Abstract

Crop losses due to insect pests pose a significant threat to food security and farming economics. Globally in crop plants, insect pest damage caused up to 38% of yield losses in crops. Excessive reliance on chemical pesticides has led to pest resistance and environmental harm, prompting increased interest in biological control using entomophages (beneficial predatory and parasitic insects). Trichogramma evanescens Westwood (1833), an egg parasitoid wasp, is a widely used insect to biologically control the cotton bollworm (Helicoverpa armigera) and other lepidopteran pests in Kazakhstan. However, distributing Trichogramma efficiently at the field scale remains challenging when done manually. The presented study explored the development and evaluation of a novel unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)-based system for the automated dispersal of Trichogramma in encapsulated form. The developed system integrates a custom-designed capsule delivery device integrated with a commercial drone, enabling precise, controlled release of entomophages over crop fields. The UAV-based system proved eco-friendly, labor-saving, and effective, achieving over 90% emergence rates and high parasitism levels, comparable to manual application.