Repelling of stored pest (rice weevil) through near-far ultrasound

Abstract

Rice is the most important stored product in the agricultural landscape of Bangladesh. The preservation of rice faces a significant loss due to the widespread presence of stored pests. Rice weevil (Sitophilus oryzae) is the common and destructive pest in stored rice. Numerous approaches exist for repelling stored pests, involving chemical solutions, biological control, and disinfestation through fumigation. However, the practical viability of these methods has been compromised due to their associated costs and environmental implications. As a result, there is an emergent need for exploring alternative and environmentally friendly pest management strategies to control stored pests in a sustainable manner. This study explored the efficacy of near-far ultrasound as a repellent technique for rice weevils. The near-far ultrasound system was constructed in combination of the microcontroller, ultrasound sensor, temperature and humidity sensor, and C++ language was used to run the system. A multi-web-cam system was deployed to monitor weevils’ movements in radiation and non-radiation chambers. A total of 100 live weevils were used for each experiment. The developed frequency range of 33–48 KHz was automatically sent to the transducer and the radiation on weevils was observed through their movement changed during the experimental time. The results showed that 29 ± 0.812 %, 54 ± 0.927 % and 79 ± 0.922 % were effective after 24, 48 and 72 h of experimentation. Hence, the developed ultrasonic weevil repellent system can be a practical and sustainable solution for repelling weevils, which mitigates storage losses caused by weevil infestations.