Robots Deployed to Find Invasive Pears in Missouri

I always thought pear trees were a good thing. I was wrong. There are many invasive pear trees that are trying to wreck Missouri's ecosystem, but experts in the state have called in the robots to help.

This interesting approach to invasive pear trees in Missouri was just shared by Phys.org. They say the gnarly plant in question are the invasive Callery pear trees. According to their report, there is a research team at the University of Missouri in Columbia that have brought in artificial intelligence to help locate and eliminate these pear trees. They use satellite images and then turn those over to artificial intelligence machine learning to track where these pear trees are and where they're spreading to.

What's the problem with these invasive pears?

The Missouri Department of Conservation says these pears "aggressively outcompete native plants, reducing biodiversity and disrupting ecosystems...their weak limbs are prone to breaking during storms, posing safety hazards". As an added nasty bonus, they're thorny, too. You'll sometimes see these large trees by roadsides. They are trouble for the native plants and animals that depend on natural fauna.

What can you do if you see Callery pear trees?

The state of Missouri says that you can remove them when they're small, but you must make sure the soil is moist and that you remove all of the tree including all of its roots. Otherwise, it will grow back with a vengeance.