BEIJING -- A research center of crop diseases and pest monitoring and early warning has been founded in Northwest China's Shaanxi province, according to Tuesday's China Science Daily.

The research center, supported by the Northwest Agriculture and Forestry University, developed an automatic monitor for wheat scab, one of the main crop diseases in China, said the newspaper.

Helped by the Internet of Things and cloud computing, researchers from the university also developed an automatic warning system and equipment for wheat scab and implemented the technologies in 16 wheat-growing areas around the country.