Please click here for updated addresses. Contact our webmaster . By United States Department of Agriculture News release Scientists have adapted acoustic techniques commonly used by engineers to predict mechanical failures to detect insects hidden in soil and the interior of plants. United States Department of Agriculture researchers from Florida and Oregon and colleagues at Auburn University, University of Florida and Montana State University have developed an acoustic technique that uses sensitive instruments like accelerometers, soil-probe electret microphones and piezoelectric disks to pinpoint insect locations. These sensors convert vibrations into electrical signals.
Insect pests are hard to detect because they often live in plants and soil.
Field searches often include a visual inspection followed by digging, removal of the root mass or flushing with water, all of which damage the plant. Researchers have been trying to find a less destructive way of determining insect infestations. They conducted tests using a variety of insects and soil conditions in Florida, Oregon and Puerto Rico. The insects, such as wheat stem sawfly and weevils that attack the roots of orange trees and ornamental plants, were chosen for their economic importance and variations in size. The portable acoustic sensors were found to detect insects within three minutes over distances of 10-30 centimetres, depending on the composition of the soil and peak frequencies of the sound pulses.