Remote monitoring of stored grain insect pests

Abstract

A number of remote sensing methods were developed and tested in commercial grain warehouses; probe pitfall traps attached to vacuum lines, surface pit fall traps equipped with video cameras and white boards on grain surface monitored with video cameras. These methods were compared with detecting insects using grain samples. Warehouse trials by trapped methods were carried out in bins with 8520 t of wheat from 23 May until 8 August 2016.Grain temperatures were from 22.7 to 31.6℃. Psocids，Liposcelis bostrychophila Badonnel，were detected by grain samples, but there were higher number of pscoids trapped with the probe pitfall traps and pitfall traps than found in grain samples. Plodia interpunctella (Hübener), Sitophlius zeamais Motchulsky and Cryptolestes ferrugineus (Stephens) were detected by probe pitfall trap, but not in the grain samples. S. zeamais was detected by the pit fall traps. Using the remote controlled video camera in the warehouse head space, we were able to distinguish and count S. zeamais, C. ferrugineus and psocids on white boards. The video from pitfall traps can be sent to mobile phones. With all these methods, data can be collected remotely, and could be analyzed by imagine analysis allowing for rapid real time monitoring of insect pests.

Keywords

• stored grain insect
• monitoring
• remote
• feasibility