Christiaan Valentine goes above and beyond
When it comes to going above and beyond development officer Christiaan Valentine is not one to shy away.
Christiaan’s innovation and drive to ‘do things better’ has resulted in the introduction of technology to monitor crop pests more effectively.
Smart traps are being erected in the grainbelt as part of a research project to develop remote surveillance technology to improve crop pest and disease management over increasingly vast farming properties.
The traps are being set up on properties around Geraldton, Northam, Merredin and Katanning to discover how effectively they monitor major threats to grain crops.
The research is part of the Department of Primary Industry and Regional Development grains projects to address challenges faced by Western Australian grain growers in addressing threats to crops.
Christiaan and his team have been testing a collection of commercial smart traps, as well as several prototypes that monitor pest and disease populations remotely.
One of the first projects he looked at was to make up some spore traps using a length of PVC, a rod, and a couple of pieces of shaped steel.
“I thoughtit would be easier to design these using Computer Assisted Design (CAD) and print them out using a 3D printer,”Christiaan said.
“Turns out CAD took a long time and a few late nights to get my head around and printing out parts does take a while.
“This has allowed me to quickly and easily make up prototypes that I would have otherwisespent weeks cutting and shaping parts from plastic and other materials.”
Christiaan has come up with some interesting sclerotinia monitoring traps that can image and upload disease in inoculated areas. These provide a real time look at what is going on during the season and if conditions are right for sclerotinia to develop.
He has also experimented with several automated moth trap designs and selected a system that lures and catches moths in a small bucket.
Photos are taken of the bucket up to four times a day, and automatically uploaded to the internet. Images are sent remotely so scientists can track the annual budworm moth migrations into crops where the caterpillars pose a serious threat.
With assistance from a private design team in Perth, the team has come up with several prototypes that will be tested later this year.
Project Manager Dusty Severtson said Christiaan is an incredibly innovative person who thinks outside the box when he is presented with a challenge.
“Christiaan has invented and constructed an automated imaging system which can send field images remotely,” Dusty said.
“It is now being used to monitor canola disease development, but could have a lot of other applications.
“Christiaan understands the pest and disease issues that pose threats to crop production in WA and sees a future where farmers are able to receive real time information about pest and disease development and movement across the entire grainbelt and make informed decisions about protecting their crops.
“He sees that better technology and digital connectivity is what is really going to make this a reality.”
Rapid pest/disease surveillance and monitoring using smart technology for crop protection and market access is one of the Boosting Grains Research and Development flagship projects funded by Royalties for Regions.
For more information contact Northam Development Officer Christiaan Valentine, on +61 (0)8 9690 2197.