RICE-GUARD

In-field wireless sensor network to predict rice blast

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 Obiettivo del progetto (Objective)

'The RICE-GUARD monitoring system is a tool designed to assist rice-growers in their rice blast management decisions. Rice blast is the most serious disease of cultivated rice. It is caused by the fungus Magnaporthe grisea (Pyricularia oryzae Cav.), which in favourable conditions can produce yield losses of up to 100 %. The fungus affects all the rice-growing regions of the world, including all rice-producing countries in the EU, and it is estimated to cause yearly losses of up to 30 % of the global rice harvest, which would be enough to feed 60 million people.

The intensity of rice blast (incidence and severity of disease) is highly variable and depends on cropping system and climate. All the phases of the disease cycle are driven by the site-specific weather and environmental conditions. Currently, when rice growers see menacing environmental conditions, they spray their fields with fungicide. However, there are not many fungicides that are effective in combating rice blast. As a result, rice is the second largest crop consumer of fungicides in the world, some of them being highly noxious.

This project will develop a wireless sensor network comprised of low-cost measurement nodes that will be capable of transmitting readings of the relevant in-field site-specific environmental variables in real-time to a central server. The systems’ software will combine these data with other relevant cultivation parameters in order to supply up-to-date information to rice growers. The RICE-GUARD monitoring system will enable cultivators to effectively protect their paddy fields and greatly reduce fungicide consumption, reducing environmental impact, increasing food security and crop yields.'

Introduzione (Teaser)

A real-time environmental and climate monitoring system to be installed in rice farmers' fields is being developed to help manage devastating fungal diseases like rice blast.

Descrizione progetto (Article)

Rice blast affects all rice-growing countries, causing global harvest losses of up to 30 % each year. When climatic and environmental conditions are ideal for fungal growth (for example, moderately warm temperatures, high moisture and high soil nitrogen levels), farmers can lose their entire crop.

Because of the devastation it can cause, farmers tend to overspray their fields with fungicide to pre-empt a rice blast infection, with negative environmental consequences. The EU-funded http://riceguard.eu/ (RICE-GUARD) (In-field wireless sensor network to predict rice blast) project is developing a monitoring system to help farmers predict an impending outbreak.

The wireless sensor network will consist of low-cost measurement nodes that transmit in-field, site-specific environmental readings in real time to a central server. The system's software will combine these data with other up-to-date relevant parameters, such as spore counts, to help rice growers make rice blast management decisions.

So far, researchers have installed three prototype compact weather stations (CWSs) that determine temperature, relative humidity, rainfall, wind speed/direction, solar radiation and carbon dioxide concentration. The CWSs, which are the preliminary version of the RICE-GUARD system, measure these parameters using a central node with a wide range of sensors, a moveable node and a handheld node for more precise measurements.

The central node also communicates with an online server via GSM, 3G and Wi-Fi networks, ensuring that data can be accessed online from any device.

Obtaining continually updated onsite data will greatly benefit farmers who currently have to rely on inaccurate weather forecasts from weather stations far from their fields. As such, RICE-GUARD will enable cultivators to protect their paddy fields and use fewer fungicides, thereby reducing environmental impact while boosting crop yields.