INSTINCT

The project aims to develop and validate a process in the context of precision agriculture in order to reduce the use of insecticides for the control of two key insects in South Tyrolean agriculture. The process involves the introduction of specific sensors for the automated detection of the adult stages of Cydia pomonella and Drosophila suzukii in orchards, combined with environmental sensors for the collection of climatic and phenological data. The development of an algorithm, the organisation of the data in a platform and the development of a special application will make it possible to follow the phenology of the phytophage remotely and determine the optimal time for intervention with damage control means as an alternative to classical applications with synthetic insecticides and avoiding unnecessary treatments. The proposed intervention techniques are based on the use of interspecific semiochemicals. Acting as attractants, they lend themselves to the development of mass capture techniques, or Attract and Kill strategies. The process aims to reduce the use of synthetic insecticides and improve the containment efficacy of C. pomonella in organic farming with the aid of an information system based on big data and AI.