Vertify

Outside project

The diamondback moth (Plutella xylostella) is one of the world’s most damaging pests. Each year it causes over €4 billion in crop losses, particularly in cabbage and related crops. To make matters worse, the moth has developed resistance against commonly used biological agents like Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), leaving growers with fewer effective tools.

In 2023, Vertify and PATS joined forces to take on this challenge. Combining Vertify’s expertise in moth species with PATS’ experience in automated insect monitoring, we set out to adapt the PATS-C system, proven in greenhouses, for use in open field cultivation.

Photo: Diamondback moth larva with leaf damage

How does PATS-C work?

Every night, the PATS-C camera automatically detects, classifies, and counts moths flying by. This data is visualized the next morning in an intuitive dashboard, giving growers an immediate view of pest pressure.

Traditionally, moths were monitored with pheromone traps that require weekly manual counts. PATS-C changes this completely by delivering daily data, instantly available, enabling timely and more targeted interventions.

Photo: The first PATS-C in the field

First open-field trials

In mid-2023, the first PATS-C system was installed in a cabbage field at Vertify. The goal: to prove that the diamondback moth could be monitored outdoors as reliably as inside greenhouses.

​The results were highly encouraging. PATS-C’s daily counts closely matched the trends from pheromone traps : with up to a one-week advantage. While pheromone trap data arrives after manual inspection, PATS-C provides results the very next morning. This early warning can be decisive in keeping pest populations under control.

​Encouraged by the half-season pilot, the project was extended for a full season in 2024.

Why it matters for growers

Monitoring the diamondback moth with PATS-C offers two key benefits:

1. Daily insights – instead of weekly snapshots, enabling quicker and more precise interventions. This is particularly valuable for biological solutions that act fast but have short duration.

2. No manual scouting – once set up, the system works fully automatically. This opens the door to networks of monitoring points across entire regions, giving every field its own data-driven protection strategy.

   
   

Graph: PATS-C counts (blue) compared to Vertify counts (red), combined with temperature (yellow) and precipitation (green). The trend observed by PATS-C aligns with the trend of the trap counts. Additionally, in week 27 it can be seen that a drop in temperature and an increase in rainfall result in lower moth activity.

Looking ahead

With these trials, Vertify and PATS have proven that PATS-C can succeed beyond greenhouse walls. The ability to accurately, automatically, and rapidly monitor one of the world’s most costly pests is a game changer for sustainable cabbage cultivation, and a promising step toward expanding precision pest management to other crops in the open field.