Design of and Experimentation with a Suction-Based Pest-Capture Machine for the Tea Pest Empoasca vitis

To investigate an effective physical pest control method for tea trees, we designed and manufactured a suction-based pest-capture machine (hereafter labeled the “pest vacuum”) and conducted a test and field experiment to evaluate its effectiveness in the control of Empoasca vitis Göthe ( E. vitis ). Based on the proposed model, the minimum practical air velocity of the pest vacuum was 5.85 m s −1 . The field experiment included two treatments and a blank control. In treatment 1, we used the pest vacuum along tea trees only once, while in treatment 2, the pest vacuum was used along trees twice, separately, in 2 consecutive periods, and with an interval of more than 30 min. The results show that a highly significant difference arose among the dropping rates of the two treatments and the blank control instantly after suction, a significant difference among the dropping rates 7 days later, and no significant difference 14 days later. The dropping rate and the effective rate of prevention of treatment 2 reached 81.87% and 80.60% instantly after suction. Moreover, the effective rate of prevention of nymphs was slightly higher than that of adults. Overall, the pest vacuum had a prominent, albeit short-term, effect on the control of E. vitis . Seven days after the suction, it is better to repeat the suction five days after the first suction. The pest vacuum provides a valid physical method for pest control, so more attention should be paid in future investigations to reducing the weight and working noise of the pest vacuum.