The UN-backed regional fund seeks to raise $20m in fight against the red palm weevil as UAE food security minister calls on nations to come together to protect vital date palms. “It is a huge threat,” Mariam Al Mehairi, UAE Minister of State for Food Security, told The National on March 9th 2019.

1. IoTree
SMART SENSING SOLUTIONS
FOR PALM TREES
PROTECTION
Unique pest sensing technology that
detects threats in palm trees before
they cause damage

2. 2 IoTree - SMART SENSING SOLUTIONS FOR PALM TREES PROTECTION
The Challenge: Early Detection
The Red Palm Weevil and Paysandisia Archon are insects whose larvae are fed from
the inner core of palm trees. Thus, the attack itself is invisible and the infested palm
tree does not show any visual signs of distress, until a few months after the
infestation. At this point, it is too late to save the tree. Early detection of the
infestation is the only key for a successful treatment. However, today there is no
effective early detection tool and the pest is causing a worldwide catastrophe.
The Solution: Seismic Early Detection of Red Palm
Weevil
The IoTree® is a Cutting-edge solution for early detection of pests attacking trees. Using seismic
sophisticated in-tree sensors, our partner provides early detection alerts of early stage tree
infestation. The IoTree® enable farmers to protect their palm trees, increase the yield, save
unneeded pesticide treatments and eliminate the costly replacement of dead trees. The solution
is based on 3 stages:
Highly sensitive sensors detect the slightest movements
of pests inside the trees at the early stage
q PCT Pending No. PCT/IL2017/050373 “Improved
System and Method For Detecting Agricultural
Pests”
q Sophisticated low-energy
sensor, easily attached to every
tree
DETECT
Sophisticated algorithms process
the data, filtering false alarms
and validating pest’s activity
PROCESS
Real-time alerts and data is sent
to your computer or mobile device,
presented on a intuitive platform
ALERT
Competitors in the field of Early Detection
v Canine detection is a system based on dogs who smell the chemical residues from the in-tree larval
activity
v Thermal detection: the physical damage to the palm trees create temperature gradients through the
tree stem which can be detected by using thermal scanner.
v Acoustic detection: a microphone is implemented on the tree to detect the sounds of larvae
v Aerial detection: using images from satellites and drones a CV based system can look
for anomalies in the shape of the trees, which can indicate on an in tree infestation
The UN-backed regional fund seeks to raise $20m in fight against the red palm weevil as
UAE food security minister calls on nations to come together to protect vital date palms. “It
is a huge threat,” Mariam Al Mehairi, UAE Minister of State for Food Security, told The
National on March 9th 2019.
For over 2 years, we have been exploring and analyzing the seismic activity of pests, with our
partner in the US and we were able to recognize those vibrations inside the trees. The
outcome of this research –is the IoTree® sensor, a revolutionary low cost and energy efficient
in-tree sensor.
The IoTree® sensors can give Palm Tree Plantations’ owners, an early detection of infestation
in every individual tree, thus allowing a precise and accurate pesticide treatment that saves
money and reduces environmental pollution. The precise and efficient monitoring of the
treatment present significant advantages over traditional pest management approaches,
together with lucrative ROI for the owners.
Pest Management Strategies The current common methodology of managing the red palm
weevil and paysandisia archon infestation is called ‘spray & pray’. This methodology calls for
repeating preventative pesticide treatment that is applied at least 4-6 times per year,
regardless of the level of the tree infestation. This approach results in: increased expenses
(labor and money), environmental pollution, people exposure to hazardous material, and
create resistance for treatment among the pest population

3. 2 IoTree - SMART SENSING SOLUTIONS FOR PALM TREES PROTECTION
IMPACTS OF PESTICIDES
IoTree® EARLY DETECTION SENSORS:
THE EFFECTIVE ANSWER
Pesticides can be acutely toxic that can cause respiratory tract
irritation, sore throat, cough. It can be also chronic toxic (long
term) with continuous exposure can cause fertility and
reproductive issues, diabetes, obesity, degenerative diseases,
e.g. Parkinson’s disease, asthma, depression and anxiety,
cancer, attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
This group is particularly sensitive as exposure can cause
disruption to endocrine systems, childhood cancers, neuro-
developmental issues and other disorder.
HEALTH
WOMEN & CHILDREN
Pesticides are toxic chemicals designed to be deliberately
released into the environment. It can run-off contaminates
surface and ground water. Soil microorganisms and
earthworms are poisoned, affecting soil fertility, and drift and
vitalization contaminates air, ran, fog and snow. Pesticides
have been linked to declines in bees and pollinators, beneficial
insects, birds, mammals, aquatic animals and non-target
pants, etc.
ENVIRONMENT
SAVE THE TREES
A Palm Tree generates an average of
$125 per annum of dates in the MENA
Region (our current estimates based
on local farmers interviewed)
MONITOR PALM TREES
TREATMENT
Track the infestation status in real-time and
over time
PROTECT THE ENVIRONMENT
Use chemicals only when needed
REDUCE THE COSTS
Precise agriculture methodology, i.e.
spray only what’s infested Protect the
environment: use chemicals only when
needed
EASY DEPLOYMENT
One time Plug-n-Play installation
INCREASE YIELD
Eliminate the costly replacement of
dead trees and Increase Biological
Dates’ production and its yield
Pesticides cause illness and injury resulting in lost work days.
Exploitative markets keep farmers on the pesticide treadmill,
crops develop resistance, and incorrect use affects yields.
DRAINS ECONOMIES

4. Case studies:
A. The process of tree infestation, in the eyes of the sensor:
IoTree® sensor can sense the true different signals that are inside a tree, this is demonstrated in the
following illustration, where the blue line represents the sampled infestation seismic signature over
time.
One can see that the seismic activity
sampled inside the tree indicated in the
beginning is very low, hence, tree is not
infested –since the infestation level is
below the threshold.
At a certain moment in time, an increase
in the seismic activity was sampled.
Shortly after the infestation crossed the
threshold (Red line, A), the tree was cut
down (B) and small larva, shorter than 1
cm was found during a physical search
throughout the tree.
Alternatively, if the tree was sprayed with
pesticide shortly after the infestation was
detected, the tree could be saved
without any substantial damage created
by the weevil attack.
This is a true validation of the early detection
capabilities of the IoTree® sensor
3 IoTree - SMART SENSING SOLUTIONS FOR PALM TREES PROTECTION
B. The recovery of an infested tree after treatment:
On the graph below, we see the seismic activity in an infested tree that had an IoTree® sensor
installed. This sensor has detected an infestation of palm weevil larvae.
The pest’s seismic activity on the graph is represented via the blue line (a) over time. At a certain
moment in time (b), a treatment was given to the tree, followed by a substantial drop in the seismic
activity sampled, below the level of the infestation threshold:
In several cases, few days after a treatment was applied to the tree, the sampled level infestation
signals were restored to a level above the threshold. Thus, an additional treatment was needed in
order to eradicate the pest entirely.
System & communication
v Capable of detecting even few larva in a tree
v Detecting larvae in their first weeks of life after hatching (<1 CM length)
v Designed and tested for rigorous outdoor conditions
v Detection accuracy of 95% and up *
v Low level of false-positive alerts (<5%) *
v Super-easy installation: around 1 min per tree
v Work life span (batteries) of 3 years
v The system offers some flexibility with the configuration and positioning of the system
elements. This is possible thanks to a unique topology of the system’s Mesh connectivity,
where every element in the system is also a transceiver for other elements. All of the
infestation reports from the sensors arrive to one main spot, where the data can be collected
manually via dedicated smartphone app, an automatic 3G/WIFI or
alternately via Satellite for remote areas using based Gateway.
The IoTree® sensor is the only solution which can provide this on-going
monitoring followed by treatment proofing capabilities.

5. IoTree® App Screen Shot
4 IoTree - SMART SENSING SOLUTIONS FOR PALM TREES PROTECTION
The collected information is sent to the cloud, where it is further processed. The relevant
infestation insights are delivered directly to the Palm Tree Plantation Owner’s computer/
smartphone through an interactive interface.
After the data is analyzed on our partner’s servers, the reports and insight on infestation are
presented on a dedicated app:
All of the important information with regards to the trees is now available to the farmer in his
pocket: Infestation statuses, locations, problems & action items. The app can guide you to a
specific infested tree, help you collect the data from different sensors, and notify immediately for
every change in the tree status.
IoTree®
BLE
TMesh
IoTree®App

6. IoTree Service consist of:
Item No. Description
Amount
(USD)
1 Sensors
Prices will depend on
order quantity
2 Wifi/ 3G/ Manual/ Satellite Gateway
3 Subscription Fee
TERMS AND CONDITIONS:
1. Price, Net USD - No VAT or Customs Duty included
5 IoTree - SMART SENSING SOLUTIONS FOR PALM TREES PROTECTION
The green dots are the healthy palms
and the red one the infected with the
Red Palm Weevil
▼
IoTree® App Screen Shot
RELATED ARTICLES:
q Red Palm Weevil threatens food security and livelihoods, but it can be
contained and also eradicated Source: http://www.fao.org/neareast/news
q UAE pledges $2M in fight against killer date palm pest
Source: https://www.thenational.ae/uae

7. IoTree - SMART SENSING SOLUTIONS FOR PALM TREES PROTECTION
PALAZZO ROMANO GENERAL TRADING LLC
IoTree Technology Division
Tecom I-Rise Tower Office No. 9C14,
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
P.O. Box 212509
Tel. +971 4 3617827
info@palazzoromano.com
www.palazzoromano.com
Contacts:
Marco Moscardi
Business Partner
Mob. +971 50 7881651
marco@palazzoromano.com
Andrea Longinotti Buitoni
Business Partner
Mob. +39 338 7162097
andrea@palazzoromano.com