Scientists recently have developed a mobile app that can help diagnose crop diseases or pests on crops. It is difficult for even veteran farmers to recognise every pest variety, making choosing the right pesticide to kill them difficult. But Chinese scientists have made the work as easy as using a smartphone to photo them.
A pest-recognising application developed by the Hefei Intelligent Machine Institute with the Chinese Academy of Sciences has tested successful for recognising over 50 varieties of rice pests.
Xie Chengjun with the program said excessive use of pesticide and a lack of pest monitoring and farming technology support for farmers were the primary problems in China's agriculture.