November 2023 - 55

ORGANIC GROWER: PEST VACUUM
research manager at the strawberry commission,
took on the project. At the time the vacuum only
removed about 2% of the Lygus bugs from plants.
She made some modifications and experimented,
finding the optimal parameters for operating the
vacuum. Thomas-Sanchez increased the Lygus
removal to 18%.
Lin joined the commission and strawberry center
in 2016 to work on the machine, and the commission
funded a dedicated class to work on improving the
vacuum as part of a senior design project. Twentyfive
students and three Cal Poly professors worked
on the project, separating and studying each element
of the machine, from airflow, ducts, hydraulics and
other aspects. C&N Tractors, which has locations
in Watsonville and Paso Robles, was brought in to
ensure that whatever the project led to, it could be
manufactured and sold.
In the end, the project more than doubled the
airflow through the ducts, increasing Lygus removal
by two or three times, Lin said. That version was
released about 20 months ago. Since then, C&N has
sold more than 50 of the vacuums and about 70 of
the original models have been modified with the new
plans. Almost 100 have been modified through a
" quick fix " that costs just a few hundred dollars, Lin
said, which improves airflow about 30%.
For now, there are no plans to continue modifying
the vacuum plans in the hopes of increasing its
efficiency, Lin said.
" The commission believes we have taken the
vacuums as far as practical for growers, " he said.
" We changed the airflow, the ducting, fan blades,
hydraulics. We tried to leverage as much of the tractor
horsepower as we could.
" The value of the bug vacuums, it's sort of
understood now, " he said. " There's awareness around
it and now there are companies building their own
custom bug vacuums and providing them as a service. "
There has been some research on the effectiveness
of the machine to remove spotted-wing drosophila,
which affects strawberries and many other fruits. And
that's not all. Beyond removing a pest from the plants,
the agitation of the air when using the bug vacuum
improves pollination.
" We have found there is potential that the bug
vacuum is helping with pollination as well, to help
with pollinating the strawberry flowers, so there's a
potential there, " Lin said. " Under-pollinated fruit also
become misshapen and deformed. "
Marsalato
Mai Tai
Enroza
Cuba Libre
The perfect mix of old world-goodness
with a twist of modern traits
ORGANICGROWER.INFO | 55

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November 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of November 2023

Editor's Letter
Farm Bill wish list
IPM Investigations
Great Lakes EXPO
Keeping soil healthy
Drone assignment
2023 Seed Showcase
Organic Grower
Strawberry options
Farm Market & Agritourism
Ag Labor Review
Classifieds
Advertiser Index
November 2023 - 1
November 2023 - 2
November 2023 - 3
November 2023 - Editor's Letter
November 2023 - 5
November 2023 - Farm Bill wish list
November 2023 - 7
November 2023 - IPM Investigations
November 2023 - 9
November 2023 - Great Lakes EXPO
November 2023 - 11
November 2023 - 12
November 2023 - 13
November 2023 - Keeping soil healthy
November 2023 - 15
November 2023 - 16
November 2023 - 17
November 2023 - Drone assignment
November 2023 - 19
November 2023 - 2023 Seed Showcase
November 2023 - 21
November 2023 - 22
November 2023 - 23
November 2023 - 24
November 2023 - 25
November 2023 - 26
November 2023 - 27
November 2023 - 28
November 2023 - 29
November 2023 - 30
November 2023 - 31
November 2023 - 32
November 2023 - 33
November 2023 - 34
November 2023 - 35
November 2023 - 36
November 2023 - 37
November 2023 - 38
November 2023 - 39
November 2023 - 40
November 2023 - 41
November 2023 - 42
November 2023 - Organic Grower
November 2023 - 44
November 2023 - 45
November 2023 - 46
November 2023 - 47
November 2023 - 48
November 2023 - 49
November 2023 - 50
November 2023 - 51
November 2023 - 52
November 2023 - 53
November 2023 - 54
November 2023 - 55
November 2023 - 56
November 2023 - 57
November 2023 - Strawberry options
November 2023 - 59
November 2023 - Farm Market & Agritourism
November 2023 - 61
November 2023 - Ag Labor Review
November 2023 - 63
November 2023 - Classifieds
November 2023 - 65
November 2023 - Advertiser Index
November 2023 - 67
November 2023 - 68
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