REVIEW article
Front. Plant Sci.
Sec. Sustainable and Intelligent Phytoprotection
This article is part of the Research TopicSmart Plant Pest and Disease Detection Machinery and Technology: Innovations for Sustainable AgricultureView all 25 articles
Detection Technologies and Sensing Systems for Crop Pest Identification and Infestation Severity Prediction: A Review
Provisionally accepted
- 1Jilin University, Changchun, China
- 2Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, China
- 3Henan University of Science and Technology, Luoyang, China
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With the rapid development of precision agriculture technology, agricultural production is gradually shifting from traditional experience-based practices to data-driven decision-making. Pest species identification and scale prediction are crucial technologies in the field of pest detection. Compared with traditional pest monitoring methods, detection based on organic volatile gases released by crops under pest stress provides superior temporal and spatial resolution. The use of gas sensors in crop pest monitoring has great potential for application in future agricultural production. Infrared absorption spectroscopy-based gas sensors have gained widespread attention in crop pest monitoring due to their superior detection sensitivity and extensive scalability. A comprehensive overview of recent advances in intelligent detection methods and equipment for crop pest monitoring is provided. Emphasis is placed on the architecture, operating principles, sensing mechanisms, and fabrication materials of trace gas sensors based on infrared absorption spectroscopy for agricultural pest monitoring. In addition, key technologies involved in their fabrication processes are outlined. Finally, based on the specific characteristics of these sensors, the paper discusses in detail the application strategies of infrared absorption spectroscopy trace gas sensors in crop pest and disease monitoring, including transmission network design, platform integration, and the technical bottlenecks encountered in practical applications. The research will provide scientific foundations and innovative ideas for the development of future crop pest monitoring technologies, addressing the challenges faced by precision agriculture today.
Keywords: Infrared absorption spectroscopy, Key information on cropphysiological status, Pest detection, Trace Gas Sensors, volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
Received: 11 Dec 2025; Accepted: 02 Feb 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Chen, Wang, Dang and Zhang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Jingmin Dang
Fu Zhang
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