Kontext

Specialty crops are intensive high-value crops, typically set in orchards. In Europe, specialty crops are valued at about €70 Billion per year, representing 22% of the total output value of the agricultural sector. Pest infestations in specialty crops are particularly fast and destructive, endangering long-established crop production areas of strong reputation and high economic return. This is because most of the specialty crops are produced in warm and dry climates, such as the Mediterranean basin, where insects, mites, and pathogens avidly flourish. The impact of climate change and global warming has worsened this scenario, as rising temperatures increase leaf transpiration and the spreading of pests and harmful pathogens. Most plant diseases are caused by microorganisms, producing infections that are only perceptible once these are causing alterations to the plant. However, many other diseases, such as the recently invasive and detrimental species Xylella fastidiosa are being transmitted by vectors, while many other pests are caused by the insects themselves. Their short reproductive cycle and the fact that they are constantly moving, makes them highly destructive. Early detection is critical to slow down and control a rapidly expanding pest. Crop treatments when pests are in advanced development stages usually require multiple passes and large spray rates all over the production area, which compromises the sustainability of fruit production and may cause detrimental environmental effects. In particular, spray drift and runoff are direct causes of environmental pollution. Both occur when the sprayed plant protection products are used in excess and miss the targeted leaves, ending up in the atmosphere (drift) or the orchard soil (runoff). Good agriculture practices for pest and disease management require not only the early detection of the pests, but also an efficient use of pesticides to reduce their incidence and intensity.

Objectives

Cerberus´ objective is to develop under a multi-actor approach a large-scale integral monitoring platform to detect, in an early stage, pests and disease-transmitting vectors in specialty crops, supporting the decision-making of crop monitoring agencies and growers as well as its effective eradication through precise spraying maps. The project will target the most important speciality crops for Europe, as are olives, citrus and vineyards, and the most relevant pests for these crops, either because they are common but difficult to eradicate (Lobesia botrana, Bactrocera oleae, and Ceratitis capitata), or because of the potential devastating effects in case of an outbreak (Flavescence dorée, Xylella fastidiosa, and Bactrocera dorsalis). To design, develop, validate and improve iteratively Cerberus technologies, the consortium will count with 6 different pilot sites over three of the main producing countries (Cyprus, Italy and Spain).

 

Activities

Cerberus will be a multi platform system for the integral and large-scale assessment of crop health in specialty crops of high value. This multiplicity of platforms will be grouped into the following implementation levels, consisting of three surveillance levels –one from the space and two linked to the field– working simultaneously, and one on-crop actuation level to close the loop and provide the correction demanded by the users to control the pests. Level I: Large-scale surveillance. Remote sensing platforms accessible from Copernicus will provide preliminary signs of anomalies in the canopies. The long distance of remote sensors will be compensated by a high revisiting time of 5 days. Level II: Local-scale surveillance. Fixed traps and proximal sensing robots will confirm or dismiss Level I alerts with high-proximity data. When confirmed, an identification and quantification of the phytosanitary problem will proceed. In addition, as IoT traps will provide a daily-basis check, they will also contribute to the issuing of preliminary signs of potential infestations. Level III: Citizens support to surveillance. The information provided by the community involved or interested in crop protection will bring cost-effective high granularity data for large-scale monitoring that will complement those provided by the monitoring platforms at other levels. For particular situations, a permanent check may be available for preliminary signs leading to early detection. Level IV: Corrective actuation. When early-stage spraying is necessary to restrain an incipient pest attack, an intelligent sprayer capable of delivering precise low-volume rates will intervene according to Cerberus recommendations, which will be directly transferred to the sprayer’s connected brain.

Other comments

The Cerberus Project embodies an innovative approach towards sustainable agricultural protection, focusing on early detection and intelligent intervention against pests. Currently, pest monitoring proves to be costly and time-intensive, resulting in limited spatial and temporal resolution. In response to this challenge, Cerberus capitalises on early pest detection and the smart application of sprays to reduce pesticide usage and sustainably eradicate pests in their nascent stages. The project relies on a combination of Copernicus-enhanced observation models, IoT insect traps, robotic monitoring, and citizen-generated data to establish a cloud platform integrating diverse information sources. Cerberus generates AI-driven risk maps and spraying recommendations through its cutting-edge crop surveillance system. With a validation strategy targeting six key pests across vital Mediterranean crops, Cerberus adopts a multi-actor approach, fostering collaboration among academia, technology firms, citizens, and government agencies. This innovative and collaborative approach seeks to address pest management challenges in agriculture, promoting sustainability and cooperation among diverse stakeholders to ensure food security and environmental health.