'Super app' helps track insect populations

click image to zoomPurdue Research ParkThe online application Mytraps.com shows insect data collected in agricultural fields and an aerial map of the fields so growers and consultants can electronically manage insect numbers and better control crop damage due to insects. An upgraded online pest management program could help agricultural growers and consultants track insect populations to better control crop damage caused by pests and reduce the amount of insecticides released into the environment.

"Safely controlling insect populations is one of the biggest dilemmas facing crop growers and agricultural consultants," said Johnny Park, president and CEO of Spensa Technologies Inc., a Purdue Research Park-based company that developed the online tool MyTraps.com. "In the U.S. in 2010, crop growers lost $20 billion to insect damage and spent $4.5 billion on insecticides."

MyTraps.com enables growers and consultants to manage insect trap data and pesticide records on a secure website by entering data through a smartphone or Web browser. The application is available as an online subscription service through MyTraps.com

"MyTraps.com provides tools to make insect trap data collection more efficient and accurate and allows real-time access of the data collected," said Park, who also is a Purdue research assistant professor in electrical and computer engineering. "Ultimately, growers and consultants can make more insightful and timely pest management decisions. The program provides aerial field images taken from satellite cameras and places the insect data over the image of the fields so growers can see the insect population data of the fields."

Allan Fetters, director of technology for Simplot Grower Solutions, a full-service agricultural retail organization based in Boise, Idaho, said his company tested MyTraps.com last year.

"We tested the desktop and mobile app with crop advisors and found strong effectiveness in monitoring data electronically compared to what has traditionally been a long, tedious handwritten process," Fetters said. "Not only was the collection of insect data greatly expedited, we noticed greater accuracy because the data is input electronically in the field. The traditional process would have required our crop advisors to collect the data in the field and then transfer it to a computer or ledger at a later time."

Fetters said another advantage is that the data collection is in real-time, which enables growers to make more accurate decisions in their pest-management programs.