New smartphone disease App
Bayer CropScience has been involved in the web-based CropMonitor™ service since 2009: Arguably the most comprehensive and impartial disease assessment available, usage of CropMonitor continues to grow with both farmers and agronomists.
With the advent of smartphone technology, CropMonitor is now being launched as an app, developed through collaboration between Fera, Farming On Line, HGCA, and Bayer CropScience.
The wheat disease app has been developed as a direct result of feedback from growers and agronomists and gives information about the status and development of four key wheat foliar diseases. It brings the latest disease forecasts directly to where decisions are being made. No longer will growers or agronomists have to head back to the yard or office to access the data – it’s basically CropMonitor in your pocket.
The app uses GPS technology to pinpoint user location and then provides local disease forecasts drawn from the closest trials and weather stations. At the moment the app will carry live data from wheat disease monitoring but it is expected to expand to cover other crops in the future.
Information is updated daily so the immediacy and relevance of the data will be a real boon to agronomists and growers in the field
The new app also includes additional interactive features. There is an option for growers and agronomists to join the CropMonitor community by entering their own disease sightings for Septoria, brown and yellow rust, and they can also view other user’s field sightings.
Bayer CropScience is looking to further enhance its support to the industry and suggest this is the first of a number of innovative developments. The CropMonitor app demonstrates how advances in technology can directly benefit agronomists and growers in the field, and we’re delighted to be involved in this unique industry partnership.
The iPhone app is available from the Appstore at: http://iTunes.apple.com/gb/app/cropmonitor/id432519015?my=8 and an Android™ version will be launched soon.
Key features:
Disease Risk Forecast
Select any region or “local to me” and the app will show you the current and forward risk status for the four diseases, updated daily.
Submit a disease sighting
Use the app to submit your own sightings of disease to add to the database.
Disease risk at monitoring sites
View the current and predicted risk at any of the 13 trial sites. The app will show you the current status and development risk of the four foliar diseases on a range of varieties at each site. The data are updated weekly.
Photo Library
Reference photos of the main diseases of winter wheat to help in identification
The iPhone app is available from the Appstore at: http://iTunes.apple.com/gb/app/cropmonitor/id432519015?my=8 and an Android™ version will be launched soon.
CropMonitor is also available at www.cropmonitor.co.uk
