Slug damage, which costs farmers an estimated £43.5 million a year, could be quickly tackled with the help of high-tech imaging technology that can spot pests in real time.
Researchers from the UK Agritech Center and Rothamsted Research say they have identified a way to detect gray field slugs using multispectral imaging, opening the door to automated monitoring and more targeted control in the field.
Slug pressure has been particularly severe during recent wet autumns, making cereal and oilseed rape crops vulnerable to establishment.
Increasing regulatory scrutiny of chemical options is forcing producers to reduce blanket application of pellets while maintaining crop protection.
A newly published study investigated whether advanced imaging techniques can reliably distinguish slugs from surface soil and crop residue in fields.
Researchers discovered that multispectral imaging can successfully identify slugs using just five specific wavelengths of light, spanning ultraviolet (365nm), blue (405nm and 450nm), green (570nm), and near-infrared (880nm).
However, no slug-specific signals were detected in fluorescence imaging.
The research team believes that identification of these wavelengths could form the basis of automated monitoring systems, enabling more accurate treatment decisions rather than routine field-wide application.
Dr Jenna Ross, technical lead for the UK Agritech Center’s SLIMERS project, described the discovery as “an innovative solution to improve monitoring of pest slugs”.
“This exciting work brings together an incredible multidisciplinary team,” she said.
“By identifying these unique wavelengths of light, we can use these data to begin developing real-world applications to improve slug monitoring and subsequent control.”
If successfully commercialized, the technology could support patch prediction and precision mapping tools, allowing producers to target hotspots and reduce input costs and environmental impact.
This research combines results from two Innovate UK-funded projects, SlugBot and SLIMERS, supported through SMART and Defra’s Agricultural Innovation Programme.
SLIMERS – Strategies leading to improved management and increased resilience against slugs – is a three-year, £2.6m program involving over 100 farms and seven partner organisations.
The consortium, led by the British On-Farm Innovation Network (BOFIN), includes Harper Adams University, the John Innes Centre, Fotenix, Farmscan Ag, Agrivation and the British Agritech Centre.
The project aims to develop commercial services from proof-of-concept technologies, such as AI-based autonomous systems capable of targeted biological control using nematodes, alongside research into “slug-resistant” wheat varieties.
The researchers caution that the imaging method will require further validation under a variety of field conditions before it can be widely deployed. Factors such as crop cover, surface residue, and lighting variations can affect performance.
However, as slug damage continues to cause tens of millions of dollars in damage to the sector each year, highly accurate detection tools are increasingly gaining traction as a critical step toward more sustainable crop protection.
As development progresses, farmers are encouraged to participate in the project’s Slug Circle knowledge exchange platform.
