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Research Update


Sensory perception


Wirelessmonitoring systemcouldmake insect control and other tasks a lot easier.


By Judie Steeves I


t’s the way of the future in managing orchards and it’s being tested in the Okanagan this summer by a B.C. company, SemiosBio. Under the leadership of its president and chief scientific officer Michael Gilbert, the company has developed a wireless sensor network for orchards that could be adapted for multiple tasks, including release, as needed, of a pheromone to help control codling moth in apples.


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Gilbert explains that instead of releasing expensive pheromones 24 hours a day, seven days a week, the network would monitor weather, temperature and pest pressure and automatically release them as needed. “The system can ‘learn’ from use when to expect pest pressure to be highest, so it improves with time,” explained Gilbert.


Traps would be used to detect pressure and they would automatically notify the system – saving the effort of staff from the Sterile Insect Release program having to check traps weekly all around the region, he said. It would all be operated by computer, but the orchardist would not need to have a computer. It could all be operated centrally. Solar panels could be used to keep batteries charged that are operating the sensors and information would be sent by the sensors to a computer database. In the end, it would reduce the exposure to pesticides and that’s where the latest requirements are headed, so this is cutting edge technology, Gilbert noted.


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The sensors would create a mesh network over the orchard with each device acting as a relay to cover the orchard, but only one sensor would be required per acre, he explained. At present 200 to 400 passive devices are required per acre, but this would eliminate the need for those little plastic pheromone dispensers and all the labour involved in putting them out and retrieving them.


Client: Ministry of Agriculture Campaign: Brown Marmorated Stink Bug


Each sensor comes equipped with a thermometer, and a water moisture sensor could be added, said Gilbert, so a colour-coded map could be computer- generated to tell orchardists where it is dry or wet and where it is cool or warmer on the farm.


He doesn’t expect the system to be more expensive than the pesticides or pheromones currently in use. There would be a monthly fee for the technology and pheromones, he said. The company would maintain the system; installing, removing and storing it as needed.


Michael Gilbert


In fact, Gilbert said the devices could be used for up to four pests at once, with different pheromones used for each.


Semios is the Greek word for signal and semiochemistry is the field of science investigating pheromones and other biochemicals used for


communication. ‘Bio’ is the Greek word for life, and signifies the ecological benefits of pheromone-based pest management. “Semiochemical-based pest management solutions, unlike


Have you seen this bug? The brown marmorated stink bug, though not yet detected in British Columbia, is a serious pest of tree fruit, vegetables, ornamentals and other host plants. The BC Fruit Growers Association and Ministry of Agriculture are asking for your help to report any sighting of this pest to:


Distinctive


white bands on antennae


Susanna Acheampong, BC Ministry of Agriculture, Kelowna Susanna.Acheampong@gov.bc.ca


Phone: 250-861-7230 Toll-Free: 1-888-332-3352


Please visitwww.al.gov.bc.ca/cropprot/ bmsb_alert.pdf for more details.


British Columbia FRUIT GROWER • Summer 2012


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