Egyptian researcher pairs IoT with biocontrol to tackle crop diseases sustainably

EGYPT – Ayther Amr, a young plant disease expert and Master’s student at Cairo University, is helping farmers across Egypt protect crops using fungi, smart sensors, and real-time monitoring systems.

Amr, who works with both Cairo University and Project Future Egypt, focuses on local biological control methods, especially strains of Trichoderma fungi.

These beneficial fungi offer an eco-friendly alternative to chemical pesticides and are increasingly gaining attention as countries seek safer farming methods.

In one recent trial, Amr and his team applied two forms of Trichoderma, liquid and powder, to tomato plants infected with Botrytis cinerea, the fungus responsible for grey mould. This disease affects both food and ornamental crops around the world.

“Trichoderma is a genus of fungi widely used in agriculture as a direct biological control agent against plant pathogens,” says Amr.

To monitor the trials closely, the team used an Internet of Things (IoT) system that tracked temperature, humidity, and air movement in real time. This allowed them to maintain the ideal growing environment inside the greenhouses.

“We tested two scenarios, one with mild infection and another with advanced symptoms, to evaluate how effectively these beneficial fungi could work under precision-controlled conditions,” Amr explains.

“We used an advanced climate control system powered by Internet of Things (IoT) technology to monitor humidity, temperature, and ventilation in real time.”

The results were promising. In plants with mild symptoms, the disease stopped completely. In those with more advanced infection, the severity dropped by over 60 percent compared to untreated samples.

From greenhouses to open fields

The success encouraged the team to scale the trials to open farms in five regions: Beni Suef, Minya, Sohag, El Sadat, and Mansoura. Despite the range of soil types and farming practices, the results held steady.

“This consistency helped convince farmers,” Amr says. “Despite different backgrounds and ways of thinking, farmers across these areas shared the belief that healthy soil, supported by precision agriculture and beneficial microbes, is key to a safer, more sustainable future.”

Farmers reported healthier crops and reduced reliance on synthetic inputs. Some expressed interest in adopting IoT tools more widely, particularly as climate stress makes farming harder.

Amr’s team is now preparing to partner with researchers in China to test these methods in other regions across Africa and Asia. They plan to fine-tune the biological formulas for various climates and improve the tech systems for broader, open-field use.

“The experiment proved that technology alone isn’t the solution, but it creates the optimal conditions for nature to act,” Amr says. “It gives beneficial microbes the environment they need to work effectively.”

Crop diseases remain a serious threat to food supply in Egypt. Plant viruses alone cause losses worth US$60 billion globally every year.

Local crops like tomatoes suffer from pests like root-knot nematodes and tomato leafminer, cutting yields by nearly 30 percent. In strawberry farming, parasitic nematodes caused a 12 percent loss in 2012, equal to over 33,000 metric tons of fruit.

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