Transboundary plant pests affect crops and farms, causing significant losses to farmers and threatening food security. The spread of these pests has increased dramatically in recent years even reaching epidemic proportions. The economic significance of a pest following introduction depends not only on the value of the threatened commodity but also the ability to manage or mitigate the impact via multiple means. As tree borers grows inside the tree, well hidden from human eye, the detection process is a challenge. Indeed, visible signs and symptoms of attack appear only when it is too late to save the tree. Every pest shows different behaviours and at the moment there is no systematic mean of pest detection available on the market. The use of collective, extensive pesticide spraying still represents the main preventive measure adopted. But this strategy is highly inefficient and costly with the subsequent environmental damage to soil, water and other organisms, and the risk of resistance to the substance.
In the future’s agri-food industry, effective pest management will be a necessary, not a discretionary, service. With global food production set to increase by 50% by 2050, outbreaks of plant pests may have devastating effects on the quality of our lives and our economy. The monetary impact of a pest infestation can directly affect a farmer’s bottom line but the negative impact goes far beyond the financials and may affect the food safety of an entire region. The latest data indicate that pests reduce the yield of agricultural crops in the world for 42% and in Europe for 28%. Trees also provide a wide range of ecosystem services as well of timber, fuel, fruit and shelter and of course, they contribute immeasurably to the landscape and our quality of life.
To this end, we have developed the IoTree®, a unique pest detection platform based on a low-cost, low energy sensor which can be installed on any tree. The sensor is highly sensitive to the slightest movement of the larvae even in its early stages of development, yet sophisticated enough to filter out anything that could lead to a false alarm. No matter the size of the tree or larvae, our sensor will provide early detection of insects activity. The IoTree® platform has initially been developed targeting for the Red Palm Weevil, and is currently being used in palm plantations in several locations. It is now our goal to further develop the platform for the detection of many other pests threatening EU´s trees, miniaturize the system and improve its communication protocols. The SME-I is pivotal in this strategy to quickly bring to the market this much needed innovation.
