Masslure Pest Counter

In 2017 Abel Zaragoza, Commercial Director of Marketing de Comercial Quimica Masso SA, had the idea of developing a system that would allow automatic counting in California louse traps (Aonidiella aurantii).

The methodology based on manual counting is associated with time and costs that limit the possibility of carrying out adequate monitoring that covers significant areas. The immediate consequence is the low effectiveness in the early detection of harmful pests developing for certain crops.

In 2017, Abel Zaragoza contacted the FEMAC Cluster to find a research center that would help him design a method that would allow those responsible for agricultural farms to monitor the traps quickly, at a low cost, and with the greatest possible efficiency.

FEMAC immediately contacted the team CD6 of UPC , Cluster partner, and led by Meritxell Vilaseca, who accepted the difficult challenge of creating an optical system for the acquisition of images at different wavelengths consisting of cameras, lenses and light-emitting diodes (LEDs), and the incorporation of a scanning system (displacers and motors) that allows images of all regions of the chromatic surface to be captured with an adequate field of view to have sufficient spectral and spatial resolution to detect the insects of interest.

In the first phase, a planned investigation was carried out to acquire new knowledge about obtaining spectral images on a chromotropic trap and tiny units (insects) to design a camera that, incorporated into electronic equipment, would allow for an analysis. automatic and fast insect detection, facilitating massive data processing to improve the efficiency of pest control management. Specifically, a preliminary spectral study of real samples of red louse insects was carried out to select the wavelengths of interest to incorporate into the spectral systems.

In a second Phase, the proof of concept was carried out to implement the solution designed in the previous project. To this end, an experimental system based on spectral images capable of automatically identifying and counting the number of individuals of the California red louse (Aonidiella aurantii) captured in a standard trap was designed, built, and validated at the laboratory level.

In the third and final Phase, and with the collaboration of the BATSI company, a pre-industrial prototype was designed and manufactured based on multispectral imaging technology to automatically recognize and count red louse samples. The developed prototype was tested in a real work environment (prototype, TRL7) and served to carry out the first commercial demonstrations. The first prototype is expected to be available within the first half of 2022.

Project's information

Objective

Preventing the development of pests in crops becomes an essential task in the planning and production of fruits and vegetables. Integrated Pest Management (I.P.M.) is a system that emphasizes the use of simple and economical preventive practices with low or no impact on the environment and the consumer.


Integrated Pest Management (I.P.M.) is initially based on the detection and monitoring of pests and for which chronotropic traps are used, made with a sheet of rigid and resistant paper, covered on both sides with a high quality dry glue, water repellent, which does not deteriorate at high temperatures and does not contain toxic substances. Male insects are attached to these sheets and are attracted through a diffuser that contains an attractant, formulated based on the specific pheromone of each insect. In this way the pest population can be monitored.


The insect families Diaspididae and Pseudococcidae are considered very important pests worldwide and among the most difficult to combat. Current pest monitoring systems are based on periodic capture using traps of different configurations and subsequent manual counting of the target species, using a binocular microscope that enlarges the image of the trap where the insects have been trapped.


This methodology based on manual counting has associated costs that limit the possibility of carrying out adequate monitoring that covers significant areas. The immediate consequence is the low effectiveness in the early detection of the development of harmful pests for certain crops.

THE SCANER

MASSLURE®PEST COUNTER is a scanner that incorporates an optical system for acquiring images at different wavelengths made up of cameras, objectives and light-emitting diodes (LEDs). MASSLURE PEST COUNTER also includes a scanning system to capture images of all regions of the chromatic surface with an adequate field of view to have sufficient spectral and spatial resolution to detect the insects of interest. It also incorporates software necessary to control both the acquisition of multispectral and morphological images with the optical system.

PROJECT'S CHARACTERISTICS

START DATE: July 2017

COMPLETION DATE: March 2022

TOTAL BUDGET: €242,511.00

SUBSIDY*: €172,763.00

TOTAL PHASES:

PARTNERS:

  • Project Leader: COMERCIAL QUÍMICA MASSO, SA
  • Research center: CD6 of the UPC
  • Industrial: EID ELECTRÒNICS, SL (BATSI)
  • Coordinator: FEMAC Cluster


(*)This Project has received funding from Programa de Agrupaciones Empresariales Innovadoras (AEI) of Ministerio de Industria, Comercio y Turismo (MINCOTUR), in the 2017 calls ( Ref. AEI-010500-2017-95) 2018 ( Ref. AEI-010500-2018-83) and 2021 (Ref. AEI-010500-2021-21).

GEOLOCATION

ESCANNING

CLIMATE DATA

CLOUD

MASSLURE PEST CONTROL

««After more than 5 years of research and work, we have obtained an innovative technological solution that will improve the efficiency of pest control in our clients' citrus production. MASSLURE will allow insects to be counted in seconds through complex systems and algorithms, and send the data to the cloud from where we can control the pests."


Abel Zaragoza

Responsible for Development of Semiochemicals at Comercial Química Massó, SA

FUNCTIONING

The mode of operation is very simple, the trap is placed in the tray, and once closed, the scanner automatically reads it and counts the insects in less than 30 seconds.



The system is connected through a USB port to a computer, sending the data obtained to a personalized cloud, where it automatically links with the nearest weather station, creating a database that is transformed into an interactive screen, so that The end user can see a graph with the flight curve of the target pest and its biological development-life cycle, applying thermal integral technology in the form of Degree Days (GD°) of each species in real time.



Characteristics:

· Field of view: Each captured image covers at least 105 mm × 75 mm of the trap.
· Imaging device: Cameras with CMOS sensors with a pixel size that allows resolving, in combination with the selected objective, 1 mm in the trap with at least 20 pixels.
· Working distance: Between 50 and 100 mm
· Measurement geometry: Image capture is performed perpendicular to the trap.

Project partners

Cluster FEMAC

Coordinator

AGRO MASSO

Beneficiary partner

CD6

Beneficiary partner

BATSI

Beneficiary partner
With the support of:
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