AI to the rescue: Cutting-edge tech to help cotton farmers fight pink bollworm

Sub: Geography

Sec: Eco geo

Context:

Pink bollworm (PBW) infestations affect and damage cotton crops severely.

AI-Powered “Pheromone Traps” Project:

The Central Institute for Cotton Research (CICR) under the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) is conducting a pilot project using AI for real-time pest monitoring.
AI-powered pheromone traps are being used to help farmers make timely pest management decisions, a first in India for any crop.

Project Focus and Expansion:

The pilot focuses on three major cotton-growing districts in Punjab: Muktsar, Bhatinda, and Mansa, with six fields from each district.
If successful, the project will be implemented in Rajasthan and Haryana.

Pheromone Traps and AI Technology:

Traditional pheromone traps use gossyplure to attract male moths, but regular monitoring by farmers is challenging.
The new digital approach provides hourly crop updates via mobile phones using a camera in the trap that transmits images to a remote server for analysis.
A machine learning algorithm identifies and counts PBWs, providing real-time pest alert information to ICAR scientists, farmers, and agriculture extension officers.
Benefits and Efficiency:
- The AI system enables timely pest management advice, ensuring efficient control and keeping damage below economic threshold levels.
- Farmers receive scientific data-based advisories and can monitor crops remotely.
Broader Impact and Campaigns:
- Data from the AI system will be shared with agriculture state department officials, taluka officials, and village-level extension functionaries.
- This information will be used to create mass campaigns and distribute advisories to the farmer database.

About Pink Bollworm:

The pink bollworm (PBW), or Pectinophora gossypiella, is a moth that is a major pest to cotton in many regions of the world.
It is known as “Pinky” because the larvae develop pink bands as they mature.
The larvae are small white caterpillars with eight pairs of legs and pink bands along their backs.
The PBW lays eggs on cotton bolls, which hatch into larvae that burrow into the bolls and squares, destroying the seeds and staining the lint.
PBW Infestation:
- PBW destroys parts of the developing cotton fruit, significantly threatening cotton crops and farmers’ livelihoods.
- In recent years, severe PBW attacks have affected the cotton crop in Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan, even impacting genetically modified Bt Cotton (Bollgard II seed).

Cotton crop:

Cotton is a Kharif crop that requires 6 to 8 months to mature.
Temperature: Between 21-30°C (Requires a hot, sunny climate with a long frost-free period of 210 days)
Rainfall: Around 50-100 cm (Most productive in warm and humid conditions).
Soil Requirements: Cotton can be planted in a wide range of soils, from medium to heavy, but black cotton soil is the most ideal for cotton cultivation.
It can tolerate a pH range of 5.5 to 8.5 but is sensitive to waterlogging.

Source: DTE