16-year-old Rishikesh Amit Nayak of DAV Public School, Chandrasekharpur in Odisha was sad to see his grandfather depressed when his crops were damaged by pests.

Rishikesh decided to develop a device that could detect insects on the crops at an early stage so that necessary precautions and remedial measures can be taken to save the crops.

A Remarkable Device

Rishikesh developed this amazing device – Kishan Know that prevents crop failure. He realized that in the incidence of crop failure, 80 percent takes place due to the invasion of pests. The device helps to detect pests at a very early stage. The device has been prepared by incorporating a Global System for Mobile (GSM) communication module, a chip of circuit that can be used to establish communication and a thermal camera. Before making the device, he consulted experts at Odisha University for Agriculture and Technology (OUAT) and focused on bacteria as it accounted for 80 percent of the crop loss.

How It Works

According to Rishikesh, farmers will have to move around the field with the device twice in a day to take thermal images of the crop. The data is sent for analysis wherein any change in plant temperature indicates pest or bacteria attack for which the farmer can take remedial measures in the initial stage so that the crop is protected from damage.

Rishikesh has applied for a patent for this remarkable device, the prototype of which costs around Rs 1,500. It was on display at an exhibition recently and many visitors were impressed by its performance.