2026/5/27
Afshin Moradi

Afshin Moradi

Academic rank: Professor
ORCID: 0000-0003-1055-0893
Education: PhD.
H-Index:
Faculty: Basic and Applied Sciences
ScholarId:
E-mail: a.moradi [at] kut.ac.ir
ScopusId: View
Phone: 08338305010
ResearchGate:

Research

Title
Dielectric properties as biomarkers: A microwave sensing strategy for early detection of Red Palm Weevil in date palms
Type
JournalPaper
Keywords
Microwave response, Reflection, Absorption, Date palm trees, Plant health monitoring, Remote sensing
Year
2026
Journal Results in Engineering
DOI
Researchers Afshin Moradi ، Mohammed Bait-Suwailam

Abstract

This study establishes a theoretical framework for a microwave remote sensing technique to detect Red Palm Weevil (RPW) infestation in date palms. By employing an empirical dielectric model, we analyze the interaction of microwaves with healthy and infested palm tissue slabs. Our simulations demonstrate that infested tissue exhibits a distinct microwave signature, characterized by significantly higher reflection and lower absorption above 2.45 GHz, a frequency within the practical ISM band. We introduce the reflection-to-absorption ratio (R) as a novel diagnostic metric, which effectively amplifies the contrast between healthy and infested states by quantifying their distinct energy partitioning. This work provides the physical foundation for a new class of non-invasive sensors, offering a direct strategy for early RPW detection by probing internal biophysical changes.