BEIJING, June 19 (Xinhua) -- Chinese scientists said they have released the first remote sensing monitoring report on wheat pests and diseases globally, providing references for early warning and solutions.
The report was conducted by scientists from the Vegetation Remote Sensing Research Team of the Aerospace Information Research Institute with the Chinese Academy of Sciences. It shows the occurrence and development of typical wheat pests and diseases in ten wheat production countries in the Northern Hemisphere, namely China, Russia, France, Turkey, Pakistan, the United States, Germany, Iran, Uzbekistan, and the United Kingdom, during April and May.
Quantitative monitoring of major wheat pests and diseases, such as wheat rust, fusarium head blight, and aphids, was conducted, including spatial distribution, damage levels and areas.
The report was released on the website of the Crop Disease and Pest Monitoring and Forecasting System, which was developed by the research team to release remote sensing forecasting and monitoring of crop pests and diseases.
Pests and diseases have become one of the most important factors restricting agricultural production and threatening food security.
According to Huang Wenjiang, head of the team, remote sensing can effectively and objectively monitor the occurrence and development of crop pests and diseases on a large scale with the help of high-resolution satellites.
"In the future, our team will release monitoring reports of pests and diseases for more crops including maize, rice, and soybeans to provide support for agricultural production," Huang said.
