Aerial release of Rhinoncomimus latipes (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) to control Persicaria perfoliata (Polygonaceae) using an unmanned aerial system

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Rhinoncomimus latipes (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) is a major biological control agent against the invasive plant Persicaria perfoliata. Release of R. latipes is challenging with the current visit-and-hand release approach because P. perfoliata shows a high degree of patchiness in the landscape, possesses recurved barbs on its stems, and often spreads into hard-to-access areas. This 3-year study developed and evaluated unmanned aerial systems (UAS) for precise aerial release of R. latipes to control P. perfoliata. RESULTS:We have developed two UAS (i.e. quad-rotor and tri-rotor) and an aerial release system to disseminate R. latipes. These include pods containing R. latipes and a dispenser to accommodate eight pods. Results of field tests to evaluate the systems showed no significant (P > 0.05) effects on survivorship and feeding ability of R. latipes after aerial release. CONCLUSION: Our study demonstrates the potential of UAS for precision aerial release of biological control agents to control invasive plants. The aerial deployment systems we have developed, including both pods and a dispenser, are low cost, logistically practical, and effective with no negative effects on aerially released R. latipes.

Rapid Assessment of Insect Pest Outbreak Using Drones: A Case Study with Spodoptera exigua (Hübner) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in Soybean Fields

“…UAS have been increasingly utilized for various agricultural applications, such as crop and soil monitoring [ 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 ], pest detection [ 3 , 36 ], aerial releases of natural enemies [ 7 , 37 ], and pesticide application [ 38 ]. With the availability of small rotary-wing UAS equipped with high-resolution cameras, it is now possible to detect insects directly from aerial images [ 34 ].…”

“…This study showed that a major cost of using a small UAS for insect outbreak surveys was fees for the use of technology, including UAS and image analysis. As the price of such technology has decreased with technological advances [ 7 ] the use of UAS and image analysis could be cheaper in the future.…”

“…The modularity of onboard payloads, combined with an onboard control system, allows for easy retrofitting with a wide range of high-resolution imaging payloads. Recent significant advances in miniaturized flight control technology and expanded capabilities of UAS for autonomous flight offer the possibility of conducting aerial surveys repeatedly and even without human intervention [ 7 ].…”

Evaluation of a Baseline Controller for Autonomous “Figure-8” Flights of a Morphing Geometry Quadcopter: Flight Performance

“…Multi-copters, including commonly used platforms such as quadcopters, hexacopters, octocopters, or their variants, are popular as base aerial platforms for many civilian applications, including remote sensing [1][2][3], aerial imaging [4,5], firefighting [6,7], environmental measurement [8][9][10], law enforcement [11][12][13], disaster relief and emergency management [14][15][16][17][18], situational awareness [19] infrastructure surveys [20], and several other military and commercial applications. Quadcopters can be considered to be representative of this general class of aircraft, and can be maneuvered by varying the power of the four motors symmetrically or asymmetrically in order to achieve translational and rotational flight.…”

Recognize the Little Ones: UAS-Based In-Situ Fluorescent Tracer Detection

“…Moreover, recent technical trends, including minimization of high-quality sensors, have led to new possibilities in the use of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) in various fields and applications [20]. In particular, UAS are now used in ecology and agriculture in a spectrum of research topics [20,21], such as plant identification [22] and weed management [23,24], or pest control and insect monitoring [25][26][27][28][29].…”