Economic thresholds of Thrips palmi (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) for eggplants in a greenhouse
Thrips palmi Karny has recently been implicated in damage to eggplant fruits. This thrips causes cosmetic scars on and deforms fruits, thus lowering their market value. To investigate the relationship between the density of thrips and the resulting damage, experimental plots with initial release densities of 0, 20, 40, 70, and 100 adults thrips per plot were established under greenhouse conditions. Thrips density (for flower sampling = x1; for sticky trap = x2) was monitored using flower sampling and blue sticky trap counts, and was found to be directly related to the proportion of damaged-fruits (y) and the reduction in fruit yield: significant relationships were found for the flower samples (y = 1.2261x1 − 0.6232, r2 = 0.8582) and for the trap catches (y = 11.667 ln(x2) − 9.5, r2 = 0.8896). The proportion of damaged fruits that could be tolerated from an economic perspective, based on the cost of controlling the thrips population chemically and the market value of the fruit, was 6.67–11.76 %; this translated into economic thresholds of 1.05–1.5 adults and/or larvae of T. palmi per flower or 4.91–10.17 adults T. palmi per four-day sticky card count.
Spatial Distribution of Thrips in Greenhouse Cucumber and Development of a Fixed-Precision Sampling Plan for Estimating Population Density
Abstract Dispersion patterns of phytophagous thrips (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) were determined for greenhouse cucumber, Cucumis sativus L., in Cheju-do, Korea, during 1995 and 1996. Thrips populations were sampled using leaf sample, yellow sticky trap and visual estimate concurrently on each sampling date. Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande) was the most dominant thrips species, accounting 92% of all specimens collected from leaf samples and yellow sticky traps. Dispersion indices generated by Taylor's power law and Iwao's patchiness regression were compared. Generally, Taylor's power law provided better description of mean-variance relationship than did Iwao's patchiness regression with exception of the data from the sticky trap. Slopes and intercepts of Taylor's power law from leaf sample and visual estimate did not differ among thrips species and surveyed greenhouses. A fixed-precision-level of sequential sampling plan was developed using Taylor's power law parameters generated from total number of thrips in leaf sample and visual estimate. This sampling plan for visual estimate was tested with sequential resampling simulation using 4 independent data sets. Resampling simulation analysis demonstrated that actual D values were always less than desired D values of 0.20, 0.25 and 0.30.
Study of Biogas for Power Generation at Pesantren Saung Balong Al-Barokah, Majalengka, West Java
Utilization of biogas from cow manure as a fuel alternative for power plants is done through an anaerobic process. A pilot plant with biogas production of 7 m 3 /day has been installed at Pesantren Saung Balong. Biogas is used for everyday purposes such as cooking and lighting, and used as pure biogas with 2.500 Watt scale generator. Biogas produced with the rate of 0.080 m 3 /hr. Biogas produced during the measurement (450 minutes) is 0.604 m 3 . With these data it is predicted that within a day (24 hours) biogas which can be generated is equal to 1.92 m 3 . Meanwhile, consumption of biogas to the generator with 1.047 W load is 0.019 m3/minutes, the generator will operate for approximately 101.05 minutes or 1.68 hours. Thus electricity that can be saved is 1.759 kWh per day or 52.77 kWh per month and electricity cost that can be saved that is equal to Rp.40.896/month.