Pest control in the Baltic Sea region via the PestSpace common data platform

Abstract: The PestSpace system aims at the improvement of pest and disease control by
identifying crop diseases and insect pests based on images sent via a mobile app. Pathogens and insects are identified using environmental DNA and machine learning, and the data is stored in a shared database on the PlutoF platform. The far goal of this system is to notify growers about pathogens and insect pests and provide guidance on crop protection. Currently, research is focused on the health of winter wheat and faba beans, but guidelines will ultimately be developed for further expansion of the system to include other crops. At present the PestSpace system is being developed in the Baltic Sea Region and covers Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland.