Development of Non-Invasive Acoustic Sensing-Based Framework for Early Detection of Red Palm Weevil Larval Activity

Articles in Press

Document Type : Research Article- En

Authors

S. E. Zahedi

M. Aboonajmi

S. R. Hassan Beygi Bidgoli

Department of Agrotechnology, College of Abouraihan, University of Tehran, Iran

https://doi.org/10.22067/jam.2026.96621.1447

Abstract

The red palm weevil (Rhynchophorus ferrugineus) is a destructive pest of date palms whose concealed larval feeding makes early detection extremely difficult. To capture weak chewing signals under natural orchard conditions, a portable bioacoustic sensing unit was developed using a MAX9814 electret microphone integrated with an STM32F103C8T6 12-bit data acquisition module operating at 16 kHz. The compact design, isolated power, and vibration-damping mount enabled reliable, non-invasive recording in field conditions. Acoustic emissions from infested palms were analysed in both time and frequency domains using six key spectral features: mean and median frequency, band power, occupied and power bandwidth, and peak location, across five frame durations. Statistical analysis revealed how segmentation scale affects signal stability, impulsiveness, and redundancy among features. A structured spectral atlas was then established, consolidating scattered acoustic descriptors into a unified representation. Dominant larval activity occurred below 7 kHz, with mean and median frequencies between 2.1 and 3.8 kHz (r > 0.85), and Band power values ranged from approximately 1.7×10⁻⁵ to 2.6×10⁻⁵ (relative linear scale) and increased during periods of intense chewing. The occupied bandwidth (1.5 to 2.8 kHz) narrowed during intense chewing, confirming spectral consistency and diagnostic value. Unlike prior studies that primarily report classification performance, this work introduces a structured spectral atlas that quantitatively characterises the stability, variability, and interrelationships of key acoustic features across multiple time scales. This descriptive baseline provides a foundation for informed feature selection, sensor bandwidth design, and the development of future embedded, non-invasive acoustic systems for early RPW infestation monitoring.

Keywords

Bioacoustic sensing

Date palm

Early detection

Red palm weevil

Spectral features

Subjects

• Digital, Smart, and Precision Agriculture

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Authors retain the copyright. This is an open access article distributed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0)

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