RESEARCH COMPLEX FOR STUDYING THE INFLUENCE OF HIGH-VOLTAGE OF ELECTRIC IMPULSE EFFECTS ON LARVAE OF LOCUST INSECTS
Introduction. For centuries, locust insects have been causing harm to the crop sector of agriculture, which is estimated as significant in more than 60 countries of the world. Today, when the problem of providing food to the world's population is more acute than ever, it is necessary not only to improve the culture of agriculture, to develop environmentally friendly technologies for the production of high-quality products, but it is also necessary to look for new approaches in the fight against harmful insects and diseases that would be environmentally safe and did not contain harmful components in the products. Therefore, in our opinion, the most interesting from the point of view of high technological efficiency, environmental and food safety is the option of locust destruction using high voltage of electrical impulses. The use of electric impulse technologies can be implemented as an effective agricultural technique for combating larvae (egg capsules) of locust insects. Object. The object of the research is designed impulse voltage generator, which is the main element of experimental research complex for studying the effect of high-voltage of electrical impulses on locust larva located in the soil layer. Materials and methods. To study the effect of high voltage electrical impulses on the egg-pods, it is necessary to conduct series of experimental studies in laboratory to determine the parameters of such an effect and identify processing modes. The main unit of the research facility is impulse voltage generator. Its work determines the effectiveness of the impact, the possibility of stable work, the formation of safety requirements and the features of its operation. Results and conclusion. The designed and manufactured impulse voltage generator has been tested and verified in operation, showing high stability under laboratory conditions as part of experimental research complex. The research setup allows, depending on the value of the processing voltage and the capacitance of the output stage capacitor: 1) to set the impulse repetition rate, the upper limit of the values of which depends on the previously entered data, and the lower one is 1 Hz; 2) to set counter for the number of impulses, which executing preset algorithm controls their generation; 3) to generate high-voltage impulses with amplitude of 16 kV with exponential cut and of various duration. The research complex, assembled on the basis of impulse voltage generator, allows not only the processing of soil samples under laboratory conditions, but also makes it possible to process the experimental results in the function of continuous scanning using computer, making adjustments to the processing and evaluating the obtained results.