New wide-area radio frequency heating method for killing agricultural pests

The costs of the harm resulting from pesticides are significant. These are often hidden, long term and underestimated. The world pesticides industry is valued at US$52 billion, and the costs of harm have recently been assessed to be similar. Pesticide use might now therefore have outreached its benefits. Oilseed rape (OSR) growers in particular are progressively suffering loss of crops due to slugs and cabbage stem flea beetle (CSFB) attacking new growth "with terminator-like determination" as effective pesticidal treatments are becoming increasingly limited: CSFB have resistance to pyrethroids, and neonicotinoid-treated seed cannot be planted following the imposed restrictions; metaldehyde, the main organic compound used against slugs, is leaching into waterways, with water quality standards being compromised. This problem of crop loss is discouraging farmers from growing OSR, with a decrease of 20% in area of OSR planted. This project's goal is to prove the concept of using a new wide-area radio frequency heating method to kill invertebrates without recourse to pesticides, yet leaving the plants undamaged. If successful, the concept will provide a lasting solution to CSFB and slug control, and reverse the trend in decreasing OSR planting.