Syngenta explores insect scanner technology in agriculture

The Diopsis scanner uses a digital camera with software designed and built specifically for Diopsis. Insects are attracted to the screen and are photographed when they are on the screen.

Syngenta’s Diopsis insect scanner to give growers insight into the balance between pests and beneficial insects in their crop.

Syngenta Benelux (Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg) is exploring the application of insect scanner technology in agriculture. The challenge is to make biodiversity measurable in the field and to develop a decision support system that gives growers insight into the balance between pests and beneficial insects in their crop.

Together with Dutch company Faunabit, Syngenta will demonstrate the Diopsis insect scanner on 4-15 October during an event in the Netherlands. The two companies want to further explore the applicability of this technology in daily agricultural practice.

Insect scanner to support biodiversity

Hanneke Verhelst, Head of Sustainability, Syngenta Benelux: “Technologies such as an insect scanner can help make the impact of agriculture on biodiversity more measurable and give growers more insight into what they can do to further support biodiversity on their agricultural plots.”

To enable large-scale measurement of agricultural biodiversity, Syngenta is working with European research institutes and startups to develop new solutions. Maurits van der Hout, agronomist at Syngenta, says: “We believe that an insect scanner, such as the Diopsis, can give a grower insight into the balance between beneficial insects and pests in the field. This allows a grower to make better decisions about whether it is necessary to intervene to prevent crop damage.”

Currently, there are Diopsis 115 scanners deployed in the Netherlands, mapping the numbers and biomass of different insect species, to better understand overall trends in insect populations.

Diopsis

Diopsis stands for “Digital Identification Of Photographically Sampled Insect Species. It is an advanced system for photographing, recognizing and monitoring insects in a fully automated way. The insect camera is a digital camera with software designed and built specifically for Diopsis. Insects are attracted to the screen and are photographed when they are on the screen. Specialized deep learning software then analyzes the photo and compares it to a large database of all kinds of insects that have been named by specialists.