iMapPESTS: Sentinel Surveillance for Agriculture is a research project aimed at boosting on-farm pest management through rapid and accurate monitoring and reporting of airborne pests and diseases affecting plant industries through a range of valuable, locally relevant, surveillance, diagnostics & forecasting tools for growers
The iMapPESTS smart surveillance team
are evaluating a range of tools with the aim of improving the way pests & diseases are monitored
A custom-built, mobile surveillance unit, known as a 'sentinel', has been developed to incorporate a number of smart trapping devices
The sentinel surveillance unit is equipped with airborne spore & insect traps, power supply, a climate sensor, telemetry & a control panel to remotely monitor & control the unit
Diagnostics of priority targets for industry from samples captured by the sentinel will be based on both traditional methods of ID & fast, specific technologies to optimise the process from sample capture to identification, aiming to speed up detection for faster delivery of information to decision-makers on-farm
INFORMATION DELIVERY
Extend actionable information to end-users
by working with growers & industry to understand the best way to share dynamic pest information, working toward providing crop managers with information that enables them to make timely, informed decisions to manage airborne pests & diseases on-farm
