Evaluation of energy consumption and environmental conditions of a wireless network automated fly trap of greenhouse tomato plants

Emerging wireless networks have become a useful tool for agriculture fields and greenhouses. An accurate
monitoring of pest insect population in greenhouses allows to take proper decisions on biological control
applications. Treatment success, strongly rely on early detection of population sprouts and pest dynamics. A simple PVC trap was designed using infrared-phototransistor modules using light and molasses as attracting baits. XBee modules operated the trap, detecting automatically the flies using an innovative capacitor as a counter; the module acquired the capacitor voltage after ten minutes and transmitted its value to a gateway. One node is connected to each of the four traps distributed in selected locations within the greenhouse and the information gathered every ten minutes is sent to a gateway composed of an Arduino ONE board, that stores the data and transmits SMS (Short Message Service) to a smartphone. SMS were sent when the first fly was caught and when a certain threshold of flies is detected within the four nodes. The wireless system was evaluated inside a tomato greenhouse, measuring the temperature and relative humidity inside the trap every 5 minutes during ten days; temperature was also monitored outside the trap. Temperature within the trap was found to be 1°C colder at noon at measurements taken 2 m over the soil within the tomato crop. The effect of power loss in the transmission signal as it crosses through plant biomass was studied. Tomatoes reduced signal transmission to 15 m, while leaves reduced transmission to 25 m, so a PVC tube was added to the trap in order to lift the XBee module over the crop. Energy consumption was optimized using only two white LEDS for attracting flies from 7 to 10 PM. Energy dosage could be optimized by controlling the lightning period based on the trap temperature.

Keywords: energy consumption, automated trap, wireless communication, transmission distance, tomatoes

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