New approaches to controlling scab and codling moth that are paying huge dividends for fruit farmers will be highlighted at this year’s National Fruit Show in October.

Exhibitor Agrovista will be raising awareness of its web-based pest and disease prediction service that combines state-of-the-art software with accurate weather data to take the guesswork out of pesticide spraying.

The system - known as Growers’ Choice Interactive (GCI) - reduces costs, eliminates unnecessary treatments and is proving extremely effective at reducing pests and disease in orchards.

The company will be using the show, which takes place at the Kent Showground at Detling Hill, near Maidstone, on 20 and 21 October, to highlight the benefits of GCI to growers. Agrovista is a sponsor of the show, alongside Norman Collett Ltd, BASF and International Controlled Atmosphere (ICA) Ltd.

Agrovista’s fruit yeam leader Paul Bennett explained that Agrovista used specialist Rimpro software developed in Holland by Marc Trapman to analyse weather data collected from around 20 weather stations situated in Kent and other fruit-growing areas.

He said: “We know that when it rains, spores are released from the previous year’s leaf litter and can then affect the new growth, but spraying every time it rains simply isn’t cost-effective.

“By monitoring temperature, rainfall, humidity and leaf wetness and then using our sophisticated software to analyse that data, we can alert growers to the times when the conditions are right for the spores not just to be released but to damage the crop.

“This takes the guesswork out of spraying, saves on fungicide costs and makes sure that spraying is only done when it will actually achieve something.

BASF will also be exhibiting at the National Fruit Show, alongside companies including Bayer CropScience, Norman Collett Ltd, Hadlow College, Aston Horticulture, Worldwide Fruit, ICA, Scorpion, South East Farmer, Defra and Maxicrop.

Topics