Development of embedded system for early detection of beetle attack in cashew trees

Abstract

Beetle attacks are known to be tremendously affecting the green sheet of the globe by causing destruction of the forest resources. Beetle attacks are also responsible for severe production loss in commercial crops, thus leading to distress to farmers. In this paper, we have presented the results of absorbance measure ment (by spectro-photometric method) performed on bark samples, at various stages of pest attack of cashew trees. The results show that there is considerable change in absorbance, which indicates presence of the defensive compounds in the sample reduced by the physiological mechanism of tree on pest attack. Also, in this paper, we have proposed the design of a portable embedded system (based on ARM micro-controller), which can perform the prompt and accurate early detection of the pest infestation by analysing the change in bark contents.