WHAT'S NEW
Auto-Montage Helps Generate Aphid Field Guide
To Improve Crop Protection in Hawaii
Syncroscopy is pleased to announce its Auto-Montage software is being used at a tropical agriculture research centre in Hawaii to rapidly construct a commercially important aphid field guide.
Image generated by Auto-Montage of a wingless adult green peach aphid (Myzus persicae) feeding on a dill plant
Researchers at the Kauai Agricultural Research Center in Hawaii are using Auto-Montage to generate 3D images of aphids, which can potentially destroy crops and native plants on the islands. These images are being used to construct a photographic field guide that plant protection agents can use to rapidly identify aphids intercepted in agricultural and horticultural shipments entering the state.
Michelle Tremblay, a Research Associate at the Kauai Agricultural Research Center commented: “Using a JVC KYF75 digital camera mounted on a Leica MZ16 stereomicroscope we are generating images of nearly a hundred aphid species. Auto-Montage allows us to combine a series of images to produce a single crystal-clear picture of each developmental stage of every species of aphid. As these pictures are being used for identification purposes, we need to produce accurate images of the entire specimen, which is impossible using just a microscope and camera. With Auto-Montage, we are able to capture true-to-life and taxonomically useful images of aphids.”
“We chose the AutoMontage software because it generates excellent in-focus images, that we can email to plant protection agents to help them confirm the identity of an intercepted aphid. When we have completed our identification manual we will have a great tool to help focus existing crop protection, conservation and quarantine efforts to limit the introduction and spread of invasive aphids in Hawaii,” added Tremblay.
Martin Smith, Syncroscopy’s Divisional Manager stated: “We are delighted Auto-Montage is being used in such an important crop protection project. The software has generated high quality images of about one hundred different aphid species in just 18 months, something which could not have been done as rapidly without it. Producing an aphid field guide of accurate in-focus images is a great example of just one of the commercial applications Auto-Montage can provide.”
