UK brassica growers are being offered a hi-tech new disease warning service, with a little help from their mobile phone.
The Syngenta Brassica Disease Warning System will provide free risk assessments for Alternaria, White Blister and Ringspot, based on disease spore monitoring, in-field weather station information and the latest predictive modeling systems developed by HRI Warwick all sent via SMS text messaging to registered growers.
The information could prove invaluable to producers, giving them time to take action and avoid disease in their crops, Syngenta claimed.
Independent advice and risk assessment for the system will be provided by the Allium & Brassica Centre. It will manage the spore trapping and monitoring of the different diseases in field traps across Lincolnshire, the north east and south east, using latest techniques to identify risk thresholds for potential disease infection.
When spore thresholds are triggered, the remote capture of weather information by Smartlog in-field stations will enable the centre’s agronomists to use predictive modeling systems to calculate potential risk and spray timings to prevent the effects of disease attack.
Bruce McKenzie, Syngenta vegetable crops manager, said the system, which is free to all brassica growers and their agronomists, will become an important tool for improved disease management.
He said: “Our experience has shown the SMS text delivery of disease warnings is the most convenient and fastest option.”
