Abstract
Simple SummaryThe red palm mite is a destructive pest for palm trees, impacting their productivity. Detection of their presence is important for management and the prevention of spread. Remote sensing may provide an opportunity to monitor and detect red palm mite presence using readily available land surface remote sensing, such as the Landsat satellite constellation. A study was conducted to determine if Landsat products are able to detect infestations at select sites in the Caribbean, Central, and South America. After a time series analysis, we determined that there are several impediments to detecting red palm mite damage at palm plantations.Red palm mites (Raoiella indica Hirst, Acari: Tenuipalpidae) were first observed in the western hemisphere on the islands and countries surrounding the Caribbean Sea, infesting the coconut palm (Cocos nucifera L.). Detection of invasive pests usually relies upon changes in vegetation properties as result of the pest activity. These changes may be visible in time series of satellite data records, such as Landsat satellites, which have been available with a 16-day repeat cycle at a spatial resolution of 30 m since 1982. Typical red palm mite infestations result in the yellowing of the lower leaves of the palm crown; remote sensing model simulations have indicated that this feature may be better detected using the green normalized difference vegetation index (GNDVI). Using the Google Earth Engine programming environment, a time series of Landsat 5 Thematic Mapper, Landsat 7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus and Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager data was generated for plantations in northern and northeast Brazil, El Salvador, and Trinidad-Tobago. Considering the available studied plantations, there were little or no differences of GNDVI before and after the dates when red palm mites were first revealed at each location. A discussion of possible alternative approaches are discussed related to the limitations of the current satellite platforms.
Highlights
Invasive species can be devastating to an ecosystem, and especially disruptive to an agro-ecosystem, which is not naturally sustainable without human intervention
Remote sensing may provide an estimate of red palm mite (RPM) population densities and economic impact based on the amount of damaged foliage
The genus is divided into five species groups, with R. indica and Raoiella pandanae Mohanasundaram composing the R. indica group, which are the only species known to feed on monocotyledon plants [15]
Summary
Invasive species can be devastating to an ecosystem, and especially disruptive to an agro-ecosystem, which is not naturally sustainable without human intervention. Raoiella indica Hirst [1], known as the red palm mite (RPM), is one such invasive species. The invasive Raoiella mites negatively impact coconut industries with losses of more than 70% of the production and death of new plants [4]. Remote sensing may provide an estimate of RPM population densities and economic impact based on the amount of damaged foliage. The genus is divided into five species groups, with R. indica and Raoiella pandanae Mohanasundaram composing the R. indica group, which are the only species known to feed on monocotyledon plants [15]. Recent studies have indicated that many of the described Raoiella species from the Indian subcontinent were junior synonyms of R. indica [15]. Based on molecular evidence, Dowling et al [16,17] indicated a possible African origin of Raoiella because the two most basal clades were from the Middle East and
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