Crop protection: Innovative pest control methods

Agricultural enterprises annually face attacks from insects, rodents, crop diseases, and weeds. The Colorado potato beetle, for example, is one of the world’s most dangerous pests for a wide range of crops, including potatoes, tomatoes, eggplants, and sweet peppers. This pest causes damage to global agriculture, causing over $500 million in crop losses annually. The beetle’s biological characteristics pose a particular threat: its voracious appetite, high reproductive capacity (a female lays up to 500 eggs over four weeks), and adaptability.

Insecticides  —  a group of pesticides designed to control insects  —  are primarily used to protect crops. Their primary purpose is to destroy, repel, or reduce the negative impact of various insect species on plants. The mechanism of action of insecticides depends on their composition and purpose. They can disrupt the nervous system, damage the exoskeleton, and repel or control pest populations.

Farmers rely on herbicides  —  chemicals designed to kill vegetation that interferes with crop growth  —  to combat weeds.

However, pests have proven resistant to various classes of insecticides and herbicides, so the scientific community and agricultural startups are searching for innovative solutions and effective pest control methods. Here are a few such developments.

Mechanical beetle catcher

Dutch agricultural machinery manufacturers have developed a pesticide-free way to control Colorado potato beetles  —  a device called the Colorado Beetle Catcher. To get rid of the pest and its larvae, farmers simply attach the device to their tractor, equipped with rotating plastic shields that sweep the beetles off their plants into a special container. Other insects can also end up in the container along with the beetles, so farmers don’t immediately dispose of the contents of the container. They wait for spiders and ladybugs that accidentally end up there to escape, while Colorado potato beetles are busy devouring the leaves that are torn off during the harvesting process.

In 2024, an innovative device developed by Dutch developers won the EIP-AGRI Innovation Awards 2024 in the “Sustainable Management of Natural Resources in Agricultural Practices” category. According to its creators, the Colorado Beetle Catcher is an alternative for organic farmers. However, conventional farmers are also showing interest, as the cost of chemicals and pesticides is only rising.

Dutch farmers are currently receiving a subsidy for the purchase of this machine. More than 50 demonstration trials are planned for 2025 at agricultural enterprises across Europe. Furthermore, an adapted version of the machine is being used in France to combat the weevil in alfalfa cultivation.

Developers stand next to the Colorado Beetle Catcher (Photo: Official website of the European Union)

AI protecting fields

The Israeli startup AgroScout offers farmers in Brazil, Israel, the United States, and Mexico an artificial intelligence (AI)-based technology for the early detection of Colorado potato beetles. The company has developed an agronomic platform for the early detection of pests.

According to the developers, the system uses high-resolution images obtained from drones. The AI ​​then identifies adult beetles, larvae, and eggs, pinpointing their precise locations using heat maps with GPS tags. A detailed map of insect distribution enables farmers to take timely action before large-scale crop infestations occur.

Using AI-based systems allows farmers to treat only affected areas, saving on crop protection products, reducing pesticide costs through targeted application, and minimizing chemical impacts on the environment.

Platform Interface (Photo: AgroScout)

Pest traps

Scientists at Canada’s University of Guelph are developing hemp-based traps to repel Colorado potato beetles from fields. These devices can minimize pest populations and impact crop yields in the early stages.

Preliminary laboratory studies show that hemp can disrupt the beetles’ feeding and egg-laying processes. However, hemp is subject to strict regulations, so handling it requires caution.

“One of our strategies is to place traps around the perimeter of the field and bush in hopes of intercepting the beetles when they hatch,” explained Rebecca Hallett, a professor in the School of Environmental Sciences at the University of Guelph.

Insecticide spray with RNA molecules

The biotechnology company GreenLight Biosciences produces a ribonucleic acid (RNA) insecticide spray called Calantha for plant protection against Colorado potato beetles.

Calantha’s active ingredient is the ledprona molecule, developed using RNA technology. After entering the insect’s body, the product suppresses the production of an essential protein responsible for its appetite. After the first dose, the beetles stop feeding on plants within 6–48 hours and survive for no more than a week.

Furthermore, Calantha is safe for beneficial insects (bees and butterflies), requires minimal personal protective equipment, has a short reuse interval, and requires no pre-harvest period. The spray has been tested in at least 250 field trials over five years in the US, Canada, and Europe.

Colorado potato beetles after using Calantha (Photo: Tech Brew)

AI-powered weed removal robots

The American company Carbon Robotics produces the LaserWeeder G2 robotic weed detection system. According to the startup’s founder, Paul Mikesell, the device took six years to develop. The LaserWeeder G2 uses computer vision technology powered by convolutional neural networks (CNNs).

A CNN is a type of neural network that can be trained to detect patterns in images. Carbon Robotics uploads weed images to its database, where taggers manually identify weeds and crops. These image-tag pairs are then used to train the CNN.

The LaserWeeder G2 identifies weeds in the field using built-in cameras and computer hardware without an internet connection. The machine locates the plants and destroys them using a laser array.

This is what a LaserWeeder looks like (Photo: Built In)

Carbon Robotics isn’t the only company using CNNs. Agricultural equipment developer John Deere is using neural networks to create autonomous tractors and a weed detection system called See&Spray.

Sarah Schinkel, Director of New Technologies at John Deere, noted that in 2024, See&Spray enabled the company to treat more than 404,000 hectares of agricultural land. Because the machine sprays only plants identified as weeds, the system was able to weed this area using 30 million liters less herbicide than usual.

Spraying fields with the See&Spray system (Photo: John Deere)

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