When we talk about the olive fly we are talking, of course, about one of the most dangerous insects for this plant. Like every spring, like every summer, here she comes back to our olive groves and, every time she rests on an olive, here she lays her own egg. This, once hatched, will give life to a larva that will eat the pulp of olive from the inside so as to destroy, in serious cases, even a whole year of toil, sweat, income and harvest. But the struggle against the olive fly has never ended by the scientific units that have been behind it for years. It is not recent, in fact, the new digital technology that, not affecting the environment and the plants themselves, manages to eradicate the insect. Let’s see what it is more specifically.
Olive oil fly: Bactrocera oleae
Those who make olive growing know very well the olive fly, also because it is present practically in all Italy and in all the olive groves. Recognized scientifically bactrocera oleae, it spends the winter in the soil and then returns to active in spring as soon as the temperatures and the ambient humidity allow it to undertake its biological cycle.
Once the larva is born, it becomes a pupa and, after about 1-2 weeks, it comes out from the olive tree at the adult stage. And so the generation begins again.
The eggs are spawned, of course, by the females who are able to produce 200 to 250 eggs in each cycle. In particularly dry conditions, it could happen that the eggs are infertile or even that an abortion takes place.
Usually the ideal temperatures for the fly to successfully attack our olives range from 22 to 30°C. Beyond these values, there is a buffer of the insect’s chances of survival but, even more, this dies.
Digital solutions
For some years now, the technology has also tried to take the road of combating the olive fly, creating a special digital monitoring service to which every farm can adhere.
The only company in Italy that offers such service is Elaisian, a company that for years and with the right experience in olive growing, has created the ideal tool that every olive grower would like to have.
It is a weather control unit, which is installed inside the olive grove, able to record all the weather data useful to decipher the presence of the fly.
The data is then analysed by an algorithm owned by Elaisian and an estimate of when the fly will enter the olive grove is obtained.
How does the Elaisian service works?
Elaisian keeps under control and continuous monitoring already many companies of Italy, from North to South and is present also in the main regions of Spain, in Greece, Chile, United States and Uruguay.
The farmer can receive, either by e-mail or by text message on his mobile phone, all the data useful for plant protection. In a nutshell, the steps are as follows:
– The weather station detects weather dataThe weather station sends the data to Elaisian’s computer system.
– The algorithm estimates the presence of the fly and produces results.
– The results, which state in how many days and in what percentage the fly will appear, are sent to the olive grower.
– The olive grower, once seen the results, decides whether to treat and how to do so.
Very simple, isn’t it?
How many weather stations to install?
It doesn’t really need many weather switchboards, often just one. Its radius of action exceeds 4-5 Km. For larger olive groves, for example, 2 are recommended in different positions.
How does the DSS service estimate the presence of Olive oil fly?
Thanks to an algorithm and scientific data on the olive fly, the computer system is able to decipher the weather data that favor the presence of the fly, thus estimating the exact day on which it can attack our olives.
What reliability can you get from Elaisian?
The company Elaisian is highly reliable because the farmer is never left alone. Any time he needs, he can contact the company that will answer his questions.
In addition, the monitoring of the olive grove is h24, constant and continuous and the olive grower can stay calm: it is protected and under control.
What are the advantages of this service?
The advantages are mainly based on a net saving of treatment expenses, labor. The products against the fly, in fact, will be released on the plants only in occasion of the message of Elaisian ‘Alert’. Especially in agriculture, the best return is the saving of money on the factors of production.
What should the olive grower do? Is it difficult to use these tools?
The olive grower must not do anything technological. You can feel at ease because the control unit, once installed, should not be touched and the only use of the digital to support is to read messages that arrive on your phone, via SMS, app or management.
What is the price of the service?
The price of the service depends on the size of the olive grove and the number of weather stations to be installed.
Contact Elaisian to learn more:
Telephone: +39 06 91 501 247
E-mail: info@elaisian.com
