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Detection of Red Palm Weevil Infestation in Palm Trees

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Conference

ASEE-NE 2022

Location

Wentworth Institute of Technology, Massachusetts

Publication Date

April 22, 2022

Start Date

April 22, 2022

End Date

April 23, 2022

Page Count

3

DOI

10.18260/1-2--42163

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/42163

Download Count

279

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Paper Authors

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Sharif IM Sheikh Wentworth Institute of Technology Orcid 16x16 orcid.org/0000-0003-0187-9806

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Dr Sheikh has completed his graduate degrees from the University of Manchester (UMIST), UK. During his teaching carrier in Asia, Europe, and North America, he was awarded multiple distinguished awards related to teaching, advising, use of instructional technology and supervision to student organizations. He also received several research awards including Best antenna paper in an IEE flagship conference. He has 100+ scholarly publications in refereed journals, conferences proceedings and US patents. His current research interest includes designing RF/micro/millimeter-wave control devices and sensors. He is a Fellow of IEE and Senior Member of IEEE.

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Ahmed Hassebo Wentworth Institute of Technology

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Ahmed Hassebo is a Visiting Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the school of Engineering, Wentworth Institute of Technology (WIT). Dr. Hassebo has been granted MPhil and PhD degrees of Electrical Engineering (EE) from The City College of The City University of New York in 2016 and 2019, respectively. He has been awarded the BSc of EE from Al-Azhar University, Egypt. His research interests including wireless communications, 4G/5G dynamic bandwidth allocation algorithms, Smart grid applications, and IoT mission critical applications.

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Forhad Hossain King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals

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Completed MSC from the Electrical Engineering Deoartment of King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals, KSA.

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Kai Ren Wentworth Institute of Technology Orcid 16x16 orcid.org/0000-0003-4704-5743

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Dr. Kai Ren received the Ph. D. degree in electrical and computer engineering from The Ohio State University, Columbus in 2017. Currently, he is an assistant professor in Electrical and Computer Engineering at Wentworth Institute of Technology. He is a member of IEEE. He has published 17 journal and conference papers and holds two WO patents. His current research includes platform-based antennas, antenna characteristic modes, direction finding systems and algorithms, microwave imaging, radar signal processing, scattering problems, and medical electro-textile sensors.

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Abstract

Red Palm Weevil (RPW) is the most harmful pest for palm trees. Because of its rapid spread and devastating effect, the UN Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) has recently declared RPW as a category-1 threat to the palm industries in the United States [1]. This destructive pest was first reported in South Asia and later found in the palm tree farms in other continents. In 2011, RPW was detected in the palm trees of San Diego and is believed to be migrated from Tijuana, Mexico. The weevil is also detected in Imperial County, California, as well as in the Yuma, Arizona, and Alamo, Texas. Further spread of this virulent pest can affect the date tree industry that contributes about $89 million a year to California’s and Arizona’s economies. Also at risk are date, coconut, African oil, sago, and decorative palm trees valued at more than $280 million a year [2]. So, early detection of RPW infestation is essential to avoid serious economic consequences and safety hazards.

Popular methods of detecting infested date trees include; visual inspection, thermal imaging, chemical and acoustic detection [3]-[5]. Visual and chemical methods are prone to human errors and can only detect the advanced stage of infestation. Thermal and acoustic methods use a scientific process for early detection of the infestation but are influenced by the thermal and acoustic noises present in the environment. In this research work, the change in the dielectric properties of the tree due to RPW infestation will be studied. Due to the difference in the dielectric constants of the healthy and the infested date palm tree, a non-destructive subsurface microwave technique is proposed to detect the initial stage of infestation. An antenna or antenna array is optimally positioned around the tree trunk to determine its dielectric property through monitoring the scattering parameters. Simulated results related to microwave scattering from different stages of infestation will be presented and analyzed. The microwave detection method can also be extended to treat the infected trees, where a high-power microwave signal is used to kill the larva’s within an RPW infested tree. This can minimize the spread of the insects during the uprooting and discarding of the infected palm trees from the plantation. REFERENCES 1 “Red Palm Weevil | Food Chain Crisis | Food and Agriculture Organization of The United Nations” Online Accessed in 2018. https://www.fao.org/food-chain-crisis/how-we-work/plant-protection/red-palm-weevil/en/ 2 D. Danelski, “Invasive Weevil Threatens Californias Palm Trees and Date Industry”, SCA Press release, 2014. https://www.iscatech.com/press_releases/invasive-weevil-threatens-californias-palm-trees-date-industry/ 3 N. AlDosary, S. AlDobai, and J. Faleiro, “Review on the Management of Red Palm Weevil Rhynchophorus ferrugineus Olivier in Date Palm trees,” Emirates Jour. Food Agriculture, vol. 28, no. 1, p. 34, 2016. 4 A. I. Mahmud, J. Farminhao, and E. R. A. Viez, “Red palm weevil (Rhynchophorus ferrugineus): Threat of palms,” Jour. Biological Science, vol. 15, no. 2, pp. 56–67, 2015. 5 V. SOROKER et al., “Early Detection and Monitoring of Red Palm Weevil: Approaches and Challenges,” Afpp– Palm Pest Mediterranean Conference, Nice, 16-18 January 2013.

Sheikh, S. I., & Hassebo, A., & Hossain, F., & Ren, K. (2022, April), Detection of Red Palm Weevil Infestation in Palm Trees Paper presented at ASEE-NE 2022, Wentworth Institute of Technology, Massachusetts. 10.18260/1-2--42163

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