Crop type: Table grapes

Location: South Africa

Suppressing Mealybugs in Table Grapes

Achieving Better Pest Control and Higher Returns through Data-Driven IPM

The Challenge

Mealybug infestations represent a serious threat to the quality and marketability of table grapes. In the 2019/2020 season, one commercial table grape farm experienced significant economic losses attributed to mealybug damage.

The infestation led to the rejection of an estimated 43,740 grape cartons, translating to a total loss of $32,478 in potential export revenue.

Traditional pest management strategies—often based on fixed schedules or broad applications—lacked the spatial precision required to target outbreaks early and effectively. As a result, treatment inefficiencies and delayed responses allowed the infestation to spread beyond containment.

Solution

To address this growing issue, the farm adopted Aerobotics’ Aeroview InField mobile app as part of a revised Integrated Pest Management (IPM) strategy.

By combining high-resolution satellite and drone- derived vine vigor maps with on-the-ground scouting tools, the team could direct resources more strategically. The farm was segmented into three distinct IPM zones based on historical pest pressure and vine health data.

In each zone, scouts used the app to record pest trap counts, identify mealybug hotspots, and escalate investigations when vine vigor patterns indicated plant stress.

Instead of covering the entire farm uniformly, interventions such as chemical treatments and biological controls were intensified in targeted areas, based on real-time data insights.

The Impact

The data-driven IPM approach produced tangible improvements across several key performance indicators:

• 7.16% reduction in infested acres.

• 62.51 acres recovered.

• $325,490 in revenue protected.

• Improved scouting accuracy and efficiency.