Monitoring the red palm weevil infestation using machine learning and optical sensing

Abstract

Red palm weevil (RPW) is a major pest of palm trees, which has destroyed many farms and caused significant economic losses worldwide. It is difficult to detect the RPW infestation in its early stage, especially in vast farms. Here, we introduce combining machine learning and fiber optic distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) as a solution for detecting the RPW in the larvae stage. A single fiber optic cable would possibly monitor hundreds of trees, simultaneously.