Optical Fibre Solution - Engineering a Pest Problem Away

//A Pest Problem//

Another day in lockdown and another day in science, progress is always being made all over the world. Have you ever heard of the red palm weevil? No? Well let’s take a look at what this flying beetle is and why it has been such a problem for an international industry.

Also known as Rhynchophorus ferrugineus, this flying beetle is red in colour and has the ability to survive as larvae in winter and travel amazingly well as adults. For most of the world, these beetles are regarded as pests that infest palm trees. Burrowing and larva laying is normally the main cause of palm tree damage and this can quickly spiral out of control as a female can lay up to 500 eggs, a population explosion that will be hard to control without knowing in advance. Every year, date palm trees around the world become casualties of infestation and farmers will often cut their losses by removing trees altogether to avoid further damage to plantations. Until today, early detection of the pests has been difficult and costly. Through some clever engineering, this may change in the near future.

//Engineered to be Optimal//

Engineering new detection systems is not always an easy task, I know a thing or two about creating new and smarter systems but it’s the first time I’ve seen optical fibres being use for pest control. The solution was developed in Saudi Arabia, where date palm trees are in abundance and an established industry has obvious motivation to seek efficient solutions. Optical fibre technology has many benefits in Engineering and one of the main benefits that has gain traction in the construction industry is the ability to monitor behaviour of a structure ex-situ. This means that it can be applied to things that have already been built, or in this case, grown. Researchers applied optical sensing techniques to detect sound frequency of the tree. They were able to determine and characterise the signature of infested trees that had larva burrow inside. Early detection means prevention and treatment can happen to minimise damage of the tree to avoid destruction entirely.

//An Intelligence Opportunity//

This application of optical fibre technology has great potential and I would like to see it applied over greater volumes where data collection can occur. Coupling this with machine learning and intelligence, an exciting opportunity could emerge to provide health monitoring of trees without being invasive. The associated hardware costs for this system are relatively low and could be activated periodically or run continuously. The researchers have plans to scale and filter possible noise and I hope to see it get taken a step further where it will hopefully be applicable to other industries too.

Sources

https://discovery.kaust.edu.sa/en/article/960/light-sensors-detect-larval-pests-munching-on-date-palms
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhynchophorus_ferrugineus