Behavior analysis of greenhouse pests according to different medical aromatic oil odors under laboratory conditions using image processing based heat maps

Various control methods and technologies are used in studies on harmful insects in greenhouses. In this study, a new control method based on ultrasonic levitation has been developed against pests in greenhouses. The greenhouse pest tomato moth Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) and potato moth Phthorimaea operculella (Zeller) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) were grown to examine the effects of the device emitting the scent of medicinal aromatic oil. Odor spreading device (volfüm) is a device that has the feature of emitting odor by cavitating into the oil with ultrasonic sound frequency. With the developed method, nature-friendly repellent odors obtained from different medicinal aromatic oils are spread in the greenhouse and pests are prevented from entering the greenhouse. In the experimental setup, set up for the study, the harmful insects in the greenhouses were combated and image-based insect motion detection was performed. The heat maps method was used to determine the escape direction, density, movement and location of insects according to the amount of odor emitted by image-based tracking software. As a result, the effects of harmful insects from essential oils, their repellent effect on greenhouse pests and their behavior according to odor differences were investigated.