description
- The project aims to bring together and produce cutting edge research to provide pest and disease monitoring and forecast information, integrating multi-source (Earth Observation (EO), meteorological and vertical looking radar) to support decision making in the sustainable management of insect pests and diseases. The project will explore the integration and fusion of new data sources from recently launched satellites with existing data products. This will overcome spatial and temporal differences to produce new data solutions and algorithms which are suitable for pest and disease monitoring and prediction, intervention efficacy forecasting and estimation of yield losses. The new data products and algorithms will be tested using two candidate systems: a fungal disease of wheat (stripe rust) and a serious insect pest (migratory locust). The corresponding efficacy of a biopesticide used to control the locust will also be explored, with the aim to investigate whether the same data inputs produced during this project can be utilised under a wide range of systems, leading to a greater impact of data assimilation in the future. Models will be validated in the laboratory and in the field to give a measure of certainty of predictions. Additionally, risk and loss estimation will be investigated using cutting edge EO techniques, and monitoring of locusts will be explored using Vertical Looking Radar, a technology which is capable of identifying the size and species of insect flying through a radar beam. In addition to building monitoring and forecasting systems with data assimilated during this project, routes to extend this information to appropriate end users will be explored to ensure maximum impact of technologies developed during the project. The project consortium will work closely with NATESC in China to ensure the system is built in a way that is compatible with existing methods of information dissemination. The project consortium is a strong multidisciplinary team with expertise in EO, vertical-looking radar technology and agricultural research and extension.