AI-Powered Pest Detection Trial Launched for UK Onion and Brassica Crops

A two‑year feasibility project called TRACER‑Pest is being run to test artificial‑intelligence and smart‑trapping technology for early detection of bean seed fly and swede midge in British onion and brassica fields. The initiative, funded with £330,058 from Defra’s Farming Innovation Programme and delivered with Innovate UK, brings together grower P. E. Simmons & Son, P. G. Rix Farms, Farmacy Ltd, the University of Warwick, B‑Hive Innovations Ltd and the British Growers Association.

AI‑enabled cameras will capture images on field traps, and machine‑learning models will classify the target insects in near‑real time. The data aims to give growers and agronomists timely insight into pest pressure, allowing treatments to be applied within critical windows, reducing manual scouting, avoiding unnecessary pesticide use and protecting yields.