• APR / MAY 2022
FARM NEWS 37
Bespoke disease forecasting to protect crops
ARABLE farmers in the UK can now make use of super-local weather indicators combined with disease forecasting to make more efficient use of control measures like fungicide applications .
Sencrop , which is known for its highly accurate smart local weather stations , has joined
Models : Crop view linked to a wheat field giving insights into disease risk and weather information . It is able to predict risks five days in advance .
forces with the Information System for Integrated Plant production ( ISIP ) to provide bespoke disease forecasting for farmers based on pooled and individual data .
Taking into account local temperature , humidity and precipitation , the system will predict risk levels for diseases affecting winter wheat , barley , rye , triticale and spring barley between 15 February and 30 June . This will enable farmers to react to times of high disease pressure and protect crop quality and yield .
“ Farmers can connect their individual crops to local weather data via their weather station and app , to receive crop-specific information and risk calculations ,” says Lucie D ’ Haene , product manager and agronomist at Sencrop .
Common diseases covered include Septoria tritici , yellow and brown rust , powdery mildew , leaf blotch , net blotch , ramularia and leaf rust . “ This
will support farmers in assessing the disease infection pressure and assist them in taking the right actions to maximise crop quality .”
Manfred Röhrig , managing director of ISIP adds : “ By integrating local weather data , the quality of the model statements is raised to a new level . No other data source can make it more precise .”
Sencrop is now working with farmers , producer groups , agronomists and consultants in 26 countries worldwide to provide ultra-local real-time
Raincrop station : Sencrop pluviometer dashboard showing real-time local information .
weather data . By integrating with ISIP it ’ s giving farmers on its PLUS plan an easy and quick overview of which crops require action .
“ By seeing the crop risk in real time , farmers can easily drive to the affected fields for on-site inspections , saving time and fuel ,” says Harry Atkinson , UK
Business Development Manager “ Given the soaring cost of inputs , from fuel to fertiliser , farmers want to hone efficiencies as much as possible , and combining individual and pooled data can help them to do that .”
For more information visit www . sencrop . com