Protect potato crops with in-app agronomy forecasts
2nd May 2024
Syngenta’s decision support agronomy advice for potato growers, BlightCast and Quantis Heat Stress Alert, have now been coupled into one convenient and easy to use digital platform, myField.
Incorporating the advice into the one myField app now means growers and agronomists can receive localised warnings of potato agronomy issues on a field-by-field basis across a wide geographical area – along with other personalised weather and agronomy data, the company says.
The single app replaces the previous web-based versions of Syngenta’s BlightCast and the Quantis Heat Stress Alert.
Helpful notifications
BlightCast gives growers and agronomists over two weeks’ advance warning of conditions conducive to disease infection and development – fine tuning blight protection strategies.
Quantis Heat Stress Alert notifies when temperature events are forecast to trigger set parameters when potato crops suffer – in time to act with preventative applications.
With one single registration, myField users can map individual fields in the app to give pinpoint accuracy of all information services. When any individual field is selected in Potato Tools, MyField will instantly show its current status for BlightCast and Quantis Heat Stress, along with the option to view up to a 15-day forecast.
However, it retains the simple visual colour coding for low (green), medium (amber) and high (red) risk, along with the option for email notification when set thresholds are reached – sent in time for appropriate action to counter threats.
More accurate judgement call
Highlighting the benefits of myField, Syngenta new farming technologies lead, Harry Fordham, pointed out the app version has also now enabled BlightCast to be tailored with users’ own near-miss thresholds that will trigger amber alerts.
“That will increase sensitivity and accommodate the level of risk appropriate for individual growers’ blight strategies,” he advised. “However, the system will always deliver red alert warnings when industry-standard Hutton Criteria conditions are breached.
“Further aiding decision support, the forecasts for heat stress include a probability rating that the conditions will be experienced, which enables a more accurate judgement call on treatments and planning for application schedules,” he added.
Syngenta says both BlightCast and Quantis Heat Stress Alert should be used in conjunction with Syngenta Spray Assist, to ensure optimum timing and application techniques to the prevailing weather conditions.
The myField app is free to download now and available for iPhone and android.
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