AUTOMATED ACOUSTIC MONITORING OF INSECTS IN STORED GRAIN

WEEVILS, MOTHS, AND OTHER GRAIN-DEVOURING INSECTS DESTROY ABOUT 10% OF THE U.S. WHEAT SUPPLY EVERY YEAR, MAKING THE MONITORING OF INSECT POPULATIONS ONE OF THE MOST CRITICAL--AND EXPENSIVE--ELEMENTS IN THE MANAGEMENT OF STORED GRAIN. THIS LOSS CAN BE SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED USING A COMPUTER-AUTOMATED, ACOUSTIC SYSTEM TO DETECT LOW-LEVEL INFESTATION EARLY ENOUGH TO PERMIT EFFECTIVE PEST CONTROL PROCEDURES TO BE IMPLEMENTED AT THE PROPER TIME. THE COST TO INSTALL SUCH AN ACOUSTIC SENSING SYSTEM IS EXPECTED TO BE MODEST, COMPARED TO THE $60,000 REQUIRED TO FUMIGATE A GRAIN ELEVATOR. AN EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAM IS PROPOSED TO DEMONSTRATE THE FEASIBILITY OF AN AUTOMATED ACOUSTIC INSECT DETECTION AND MONITORING SYSTEM USING NEW ULTRA-HIGH SENSITIVITY MICROPHONES MICROMACHINED FROM SINGLE-CRYSTAL SILICON. THE PERFORMANCE OF THE PROPOSED EXPERIMENTAL MICROPHONES WAS RECENTLY DEMONSTRATED AT THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE F STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGY (NIST). THE ACOUSTIC PERFORMANCE OF THESE SMALL, LOW-COST CAPACITIVE SENSORS MATCHES THE PERFORMANCE OF FAR LARGER AND MUCH MORE EXPENSIVE RESEARCH MICROPHONES. THE NEW MICROPHONES, WHEN COUPLED WITH "SMART" SIGNAL PROCESSING MICROELECTRONIC CHIPS, ARE IDEALLY SUITED FOR DETECTING INSECTS IN GRAIN. EIGHTEEN SENSORS WILL BE FABRICATED AND TESTED AT NIST AND AT TWO USDA-ARS LABORATORIES.