Abstract
The paper presents a comprehensive experimental and modelling study of the effect of a pulsed high- voltage electric field on agricultural crop pests in greenhouse conditions, using strawberries as an example. An experimental setup based on a high-frequency, high-voltage transformer (HVT, 6 kV) enables the formation of a quasi- stationary electric field with adjustable voltage and current parameters. A series of field experiments was conducted at voltages up to 6 kV with a fixed exposure time of 5 minutes, during which a pronounced nonlinear, threshold dependence of pest control efficiency on the level of electrical exposure was observed. To interpret the results, an equivalent RC model of the biological object was combined with numerical modelling of the electric field distribution via the finite element method. The modelling showed that, under the conditions studied, the temperature increase of the biological object does not exceed a fraction of a degree, thereby excluding a thermal mechanism of action. It was established that the observed biological effect is due to electrically induced processes associated with the local electric-field concentration and the polarisation of membrane structures. The results confirm the promise of using pulsed high-voltage electric fields as an environmentally safe alternative to chemical methods of plant protection and create the conditions for optimising the parameters of electrical exposure in greenhouse technologies.