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Q&A ViewAttendees 4

Plant-Insect Ecosystems

10-Minute Paper

P-IE: IPM - General

Using remote sensing to detect wheat stem sawfly induced stress in growing wheat plants

Tuesday, November 2, 2021
3:54 PM – 4:06 PM MT
Location: Colorado Convention Center, Meeting Room 301-303
In-Person
Since 1920 the wheat stem sawfly (WSS) has been recognized by the scientific community and as a detrimental pest in the production of wheat and more recently, other cereal crops across the Northern Great Plains. Yet, it is estimated that the sawfly is responsible for $350 billion in lost revenue annually across the region. Current options for WSS control are limited and it is difficult to assess the overall infestation in the field during the growing season because it is a stem boring insect that does not produce obvious symptoms of stress in infested plants. To better understand patterns of WSS larval infestation we are studying the spectral responses of infested plants to identify signatures that indicate sawfly feeding induced stress. To achieve this we conducted experiments in a controlled environment scaling spectral observations from the leaf to canopy level. The next step in this work includes using drone and satellite data in conjunction with ground-truthed infestation data to estimate sawfly severity at the field level. This project is motivated to more rapidly provide tools to wheat producers that will help to curb severe infestations in a battle that has lasted over a century.