April 2024 - 7
PEST MANAGEMENT
The Insect Eavesdropper collects minute vibrations
as pests feed on plants, with each type of insect -
and its specific activity - giving off distinct signatures
that can tell a grower when, where, how many and
what type of pests are feeding on crops.
E
mily Bick, assistant professor of precision pest
ecology and Extension specialist for the University
of Wisconsin-Madison, is compiling the ultimate
playlist for her field of expertise.
Bick runs the university's Original Digital Entomology
Lab. She describes the lab's
mission as finding out how to
" use these fancy, cutting-edge,
novel digital tools for better
time and space insect pest
interventions in agriculture. "
That's why Bick and other
researchers across the globe
are collecting what she calls
a " library of sound " - not of
music, but:
* Piercing-sucking insects,
such as the strawberry
lygus bug, as they feed.
* Colorado potato beetles
defoliating certain
vegetable crops.
* Corn rootworms as they
munch away, unseen by
crop scouts.
* Leafhoppers on cherry
and other fruit trees.
The goal is to develop a database that growers, crop
consultants and researchers can consult using the
Insect Eavesdropper, the latest in the evolution of pest
detection that has used everything from gramophone
needles and laser vibrometers to detect pests in the field.
For decades, the technology has been expensive and
Dev Mehrotra (pictured in a corn field) and Emily Bick have
focused on field and forage crops, but other researchers
will be using the Insect Eavesdropper to collect insect
data in specialty crops this year. Photos courtesy of
University of Wisconsin Department of Entomology.
imperfect, with systems costing up to $7,000 just to rent
for one season, with some technology prone to picking
background noise.
Bick and Dev Mehrotra, a computer science
engineering student and project lead, found the right
combination of hardware to
detect pests wherever they
feed on crops, including hidden
away as they bore into stalks.
The device is made up of a
contact microphone that's
clipped onto a plant, and a
minicomputer that records
feeding events.
While the technology can
detect pests that feed on roots
or suck on the plants, Bick said
it's also important what the
Insect Eavesdropper doesn't
document: insects walking
on leaves or flying nearby.
The device will " hear " bees
feeding and drinking, but not
interacting with plants as they
collect pollen.
Bick said the Insect
Eavesdropper is about two
years away from commercial release. The device is
up-to-date with the most cost-efficient technology,
but she is working on the machine-learning algorithm
development, and collaborators across the U.S. and
in Europe will be collecting data in fields, orchards
and vineyards.
VEGETABLEGROWERSNEWS.COM | 7
http://www.VEGETABLEGROWERSNEWS.COM
April 2024
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of April 2024
Editor's Letter
The Pest Whisperer?
Managing wildlife on the farm
Weed battle
Pennsylvania Vegetable Growers Association
Southeast honors
Why every operation needs two succession plans
Biopesticides and beneficial insects
Ag Labor Review
Farm Market & Agriculture
Classifieds
Advertiser Index
April 2024 - 1
April 2024 - 2
April 2024 - 3
April 2024 - Editor's Letter
April 2024 - 5
April 2024 - The Pest Whisperer?
April 2024 - 7
April 2024 - 8
April 2024 - 9
April 2024 - Managing wildlife on the farm
April 2024 - 11
April 2024 - 12
April 2024 - 13
April 2024 - Weed battle
April 2024 - 15
April 2024 - 16
April 2024 - 17
April 2024 - Pennsylvania Vegetable Growers Association
April 2024 - 19
April 2024 - Southeast honors
April 2024 - 21
April 2024 - Why every operation needs two succession plans
April 2024 - 23
April 2024 - Biopesticides and beneficial insects
April 2024 - 25
April 2024 - 26
April 2024 - 27
April 2024 - 28
April 2024 - 29
April 2024 - Ag Labor Review
April 2024 - 31
April 2024 - Farm Market & Agriculture
April 2024 - 33
April 2024 - Classifieds
April 2024 - Advertiser Index
April 2024 - 36
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