MANAGING insect pests is a guessing game, leaving calendar sprays as the best management alternative
RapidAIM real-time insect monitoring technology aims to change this and take the guesswork out of pest management.
Fruit fly is the first application of the technology; a pest that is highly mobile, can reproduce rapidly, and cause damage quickly.
Developed by former CSIRO scientists, RapidAIM is a novel insect monitoring technology for early detection, targeted control, and validation that control is working.
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RapidAIM co-founder and chief executive officer, Dr Nancy Schellhorn, said the RapidFLY product is a game changer.
"Growers will know when and where to act, and can have confidence in their fruit fly management," Dr Schellhorn said.
The team have combined their knowledge of insect pest ecology with sensor technology to provide real-time fruit fly detection straight into the hands of growers.
The sensors work by detecting the "behavioral fingerprints" of fruit flies. Once a fly enters a trap, it is identified as a fruit fly and its location is communicated to an end user through an easy-to-use mobile phone app.
After extensive trialling the RapidFLY service offering is now available in select regions, and will be available nationally starting January 2020.
Growers using the RapidFLY demo app have reported that the information is easy to use and provides important insights about pest detections as they occur.
"Knowing when and where pests arrive in the region, farm and orchard allows for targeted control, and opens the door to using more tools in the pest management tool box," Dr Schellhorn said.
The team will be testing the companion product to RapidFLY called FLYRT (pronounced "flirt") that provides regional fruit fly pressure and alerts.
For more information or to make contact, visit: rapidaim.io
- Copy supplied by RapidAIM.
