Application of Remote Sensing in Plant Protection: spectral discrimination of palm trees infested by Red Palm Weevil

Large scale pest monitoring by remote sensing and preventive control measures by chemical endoterapy are highly desired. A preliminary spectral discrimination, which was conducted in palms at 'Fiera del Levante' in Bari, was achieved as (i) male and female individuals at all wavelength ranges, due to the orange cluster color in females; (ii) infested and non infested palms at the 'plateau range' only in palms of the same sex and severely damaged. The efficacy of the 2006 endoterapy treatment at IAMB palms in Valenzano was assessed by photo-interpretation on RGB image of 2006 which was compared to visual inspections in 2010. The total number of missing palms was fifty-one, whereas twenty-three were the infested palms.