Crop losses in the northern Italian region of Trento have tripled in the past two seasons as the bug has advanced.
Researchers, statisticians and mathematicians have combined their skills to develop a smartphone app to help growers get smarter about its advance.
Fondazione Edmund Mach research centre near science communicator Anna Eriksson recently visited New Zealand with researcher Gianfranco Anfora to pitch the BugMap smartphone application.
The technology offers the chance to detect an incursion early rather than monitoring the all-out invasion Italy is now experiencing.
The foundation works closely with Plant and Food Research in NZ, sharing resources, researchers and growing seasons to better understand the bug’s lifecycle and progress.
Because the stink bug overwinters in houses around the horticultural valley there is also an opportunity to use the app to interact better with the district’s urban population.
“It consists of a map and includes an information sheet on the stink bug’s morphology and gives users the ability to report the presence and location of any bugs detected and to include a photo for verification.”
So far the app has 700 users and has recorded 2000 bug sites.
The researchers hope that as more data is collected the technology will become increasingly accurate as a predictive tool for tracking the bug’s spread.
Trento has steep glacial valleys with wooded sides that provide habitat for the bug before it moves into ripening fruit crops on the valley floor, gradually working through each crop as it ripens.
In a short time the bug has effectively wiped out Italy’s €300 million pear sector and Trento’s €630m worth of crops risk a similar fate if it is not contained.
Data input from the app enabled researchers this year to predict an invasion in a particular apple-growing valley.
Once the likelihood of invasion is detected growers can begin to select their approach to controlling the bug.
Simple spray control has limited success with only two types being effective and growers are increasingly having to cover crops entirely to keep the bugs out.
Input from Kiwi researchers is also helping with the development of pheromone traps and sterile male populations are also being bred.
So far most app users are orchardists.
In the coming year Eriksson hopes to engage more tech-savvy young growers, encouraging them to check every day for the first signs of stink bug eggs.
“This will give us very up to date data on exactly when infestations are starting and when peak numbers are being reached and act as an early warning system.”
She is also introducing the app to children and working closely with the region’s schools to engage children on biosecurity vigilance.
One early aim of the app is to try to reduce the gap between urban people, growers and researchers. She believes that is starting to happen, with urban users proving very accurate in their bug detection.
“Every notification is checked by an expert and responded to. We are not yet using machine learning and AI to do this although this may occur in the future.”
Eriksson said she can see the app’s use in NZ where we have the advantage of not yet being infested.
“Having the app available would be a valuable tool for early detection data.”
Brown Marmorated Stink Bug Council chairman Dr Ed Massey said NZ is interested in the app but also has a similar multi-species app already in play.
“The Find a Pest app developed by Scion has a link to the Ministry for Primary Industries for people to report the discovery of an insect. This sort of technology is valuable for helping get greater engagement with citizen scientists.”
A Kiwifruit Vine Health spokesman said the sector might be interested in a reporting app similar to the Italian version.
A stink bug awareness campaign running this summer has already recorded double the phone calls of this time last year.
So far 15 live stink bug finds have been confirmed including 10 found at the border.
