Use of Geographic Information Systems

and Remote Sensing in Integrated pest

Management Programs

Teresia Nyoike,

Post-doctoral Research Associate

Entomology and Nematology Dept.

University of Florida

Integrated Pest Management (IPM)

It is a knowledge intensive

frequent sampling

use of thresholds

Recognizes that insect pests are not uniformly distributed in the field

Most insect and mite populations are known to occur in “hot spots” in the field

However, management actions are still based on whole field treatment

Alternative is to use site-specific pest management

Site-specific pest management (SSPM)

SSPM approach recognizes that pest populations are varied in time and space

Therefore:

more informed management decisions

more efficient use of inputs (chemical, biocontrol agents)

conserve the environment

Involves developing sampling program to generate pest density maps that will guide management to target specific locations

To develop the maps, a global positioning systems (GPS), geographic information systems (GIS) and geostatistics are used

Example: Distribution of spider mites and its predatory mite

TSSM populations are known to occur in “hot spots” in the field

Temporal and spatial variability of TSSM & its predator (N. californicus):

provide valuable information towards mite management

study their population dynamics

determine how predatory mites disperse from a point of release after inoculation

Sampling and generating pest density maps - GPS/GIS

Decide your sampling design –regular/stratified/transect

Georefencing your sampling points

Input your geo-referenced points into GIS (e.g. ArcMAP – ESRI)

Keep a record of the insect data and geo-referenced points -GPS point 1 corresponds to insect population at that exact point 1

Choose the optimum interpolation method to generate the continuous surfaces (maps)

Use of maps in making management decisions

Mite infestation in the field

Sampling dates:

Map 1 – March 1st

Map 2 - March 14th

Map 3 – March 30th

• TSSM management on

March 1st could be done only

in the center and north side

of the field

• Delaying until March 30th

will require treating the

whole field

Density maps showing distribution of spider mites and N. californicus

GIS

Where? - location

What is the trends? - what happened

Patterns?

what if? - modeling (pest data + weather

factors or soil type etc)

Use of Remote Sensing for Improved

Sampling Techniques

Use of leaf reflectance spectroscopy (remote

sensing) to detect pest damage on leaves

Use of Remote Sensing for Improved Sampling Techniques

Sampling and monitoring are key steps for

timely pest management

However, it is time consuming and labor

intensive e.g. sampling programs for spider

mites involve the use of hand lens or visual

observations for symptoms in the field

There is a need to develop a different

approach to enhance or supplement sampling

techniques

The potential for using remote sensing has

been demonstrated in pest management for

detection of pests injury

TSSM > 1mm

Leaf Reflectance Spectroscopy

Healthy leaf – reflectance is

low in the visible region (400 –

700 nm) due to strong

absorption of EMR by

chlorophyll

NIR region (700 – 2500 nm)

reflectance is high due to light

scattering by the internal plant

cells Image credits: innovative gis.com

Plant stress due to insect pests & diseases cause changes in

reflectance in the VIS & NIR regions due to changes in chlorophyll

content and cellular damage

Example: Spider mites

Mites injury –

removal of chlorophyll

cell structure damage through their feeding

This causes changes in leaf reflectance properties of the leaf

These are changes can be quantified to indirectly estimate the number of spider mites causing injury on the leaf

Leaf Reflectance Curves

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

200 700 1200 1700 2200

Refl

ecta

nce (

%)

Wavelength (nm)

Control Low High

Control - 3.6 ± 1.5

Low - 74.0 ± 12.8

High - 161.9 ± 37.6

NIR region was the most important region predict TSSM injury

Equipment used

Equipment that can be used to collect spectral reflectance

data in the VIS/NIR regions (200-2500 nm)

Cary 500 Scan UV-Vis-NIR Spectrophotometer

Spectroradiometer

Remote sensing platforms

http://www.searchmesh.net/default.aspx?page=1726 http://gisatmarwadi.wordpress.com/

Satellites – Landsat, GeoEye Inc, Quickbird Air craft

Field Applications…

In real-time sampling programs pests

Hand-held spectrophotometers can be mounted on a

tractor with a GPS to generate field maps for site-

specific pest management of pest

Ground-based

Spotted Wing Drosophila in the U.S.

Since 1980