Article taken from South East Farmer Magazine
Fruit growers now have the ammunition to fight back against another potentially costly disease following the launch of Agrovista’s new fireblight warning service at this year’s Fruit Focus show in East Malling.
The company has added fireblight to the pests and diseases that can already be forecast through its cloud-based service for top fruit growers, Growers Choice Interactive (GCI) The system is designed to analyse weather data to create models that predict the threat from the likes of various pests and diseases, allowing accurate and timely spraying that has the potential to save significant sums in unnecessary treatments. “Properly timed applications help the grower produce top quality fruit as well as saving money,” explained fruit agronomist Alex Radu. “Spraying at the wrong time is just a complete waste of expensive chemicals.”
Agrovista is the first company to have launched an early warning system for the damaging, and often costly, disease fireblight in the UK. Alex explained: “Fireblight is a potentially serious bacterial disease of apples and pears for which there is no chemical cure. Growers have to rely on preventative or antagonistic sprays, which makes accurate forecasting all the more vital.”The fireblight software calculates the likelihood of infection on blossom and new growth based on live data collected from 36 fruit-specific weather stations across the country, as well as likely bacterial contamination and growth based on temperature and relative humidity/rainfall.
Erwinia amylovora, which causes fireblight, becomes a threat at 18oc or above in wet conditions, Alex explained, adding: “Growers who have orchards with a history of disease can assume it is there, and we can now help them forecast potential outbreaks with greater accuracy.”
The fireblight service was included this season at no extra charge to growers who subscribe to its GCI package, which already includes forecasting models for primary and secondary scab, codling moth and canker, as well as accurate weather data. The service costs £370 per year, while a premium version also allows the grower to input his or her own pesticide plan so that the software can calculate the level of existing protection as well as the level of the threat. “At its worst, fireblight can affect an entire orchard, although fruit loss is more common,” said Alex. “Either way, protecting the trees using GCI is clearly a more sensible way forward, and the cost can easily be recouped simply by accurate and less wasteful spraying.” Also sparking considerable interest at Fruit Focus was Agrovista’s innovative Axis precision farming service being demonstrated by agronomist Jack Harris.
The company also took the opportunity to highlight developments in its soft-fruit tunnel monitoring systems, developed by Plantsystems and designed to improve irrigation practice and disease management. Mark Davies, Agrovista’s commercial head of fruit, said: “Our tunnel monitoring system consists of a network of radio-linked monitoring stations with sensors that monitor critical agronomic areas related to the growth of the plant. “These include temperature, relative humidity, irrigation, soil moisture and electrical conductivity, which is a measure of the levels of fertiliser. “The service is aimed mainly at substrate crops and is available on any internet-enabled device to provide accurate, real-time data that can remotely track what is happening within the tunnel at critical times.” Data can be monitored and interpreted daily, weekly or monthly and patterns can help the grower decide on the most effective moisture, temperature and fertiliser regimes. Alerts can be set to warn of overheating or cooling, allowing growers to take action before the tunnel exceeds critical temperatures, either high or low. Humidity can also be monitored and set to trigger an alarm. The system can also be used to apply irrigation or fertigation remotely from a desktop computer or smartphone according to soil moisture status. “This helps optimise water and fertiliser use and can help improve crop quality,” said Mr Davies. Each tunnel monitoring system is bespoke, with growers able to choose from the basic system through to a highly advanced automated management tool.
Fruit growers now have the ammunition to fight back against another potentially costly disease following the launch of Agrovista’s new fireblight warning service at this year’s Fruit Focus show in East Malling.
The company has added fireblight to the pests and diseases that can already be forecast through its cloud-based service for top fruit growers, Growers Choice Interactive (GCI) The system is designed to analyse weather data to create models that predict the threat from the likes of various pests and diseases, allowing accurate and timely spraying that has the potential to save significant sums in unnecessary treatments. “Properly timed applications help the grower produce top quality fruit as well as saving money,” explained fruit agronomist Alex Radu. “Spraying at the wrong time is just a complete waste of expensive chemicals.”
Agrovista is the first company to have launched an early warning system for the damaging, and often costly, disease fireblight in the UK. Alex explained: “Fireblight is a potentially serious bacterial disease of apples and pears for which there is no chemical cure. Growers have to rely on preventative or antagonistic sprays, which makes accurate forecasting all the more vital.”The fireblight software calculates the likelihood of infection on blossom and new growth based on live data collected from 36 fruit-specific weather stations across the country, as well as likely bacterial contamination and growth based on temperature and relative humidity/rainfall.
Erwinia amylovora, which causes fireblight, becomes a threat at 18oc or above in wet conditions, Alex explained, adding: “Growers who have orchards with a history of disease can assume it is there, and we can now help them forecast potential outbreaks with greater accuracy.”
The fireblight service was included this season at no extra charge to growers who subscribe to its GCI package, which already includes forecasting models for primary and secondary scab, codling moth and canker, as well as accurate weather data. The service costs £370 per year, while a premium version also allows the grower to input his or her own pesticide plan so that the software can calculate the level of existing protection as well as the level of the threat. “At its worst, fireblight can affect an entire orchard, although fruit loss is more common,” said Alex. “Either way, protecting the trees using GCI is clearly a more sensible way forward, and the cost can easily be recouped simply by accurate and less wasteful spraying.” Also sparking considerable interest at Fruit Focus was Agrovista’s innovative Axis precision farming service being demonstrated by agronomist Jack Harris.
The company also took the opportunity to highlight developments in its soft-fruit tunnel monitoring systems, developed by Plantsystems and designed to improve irrigation practice and disease management. Mark Davies, Agrovista’s commercial head of fruit, said: “Our tunnel monitoring system consists of a network of radio-linked monitoring stations with sensors that monitor critical agronomic areas related to the growth of the plant. “These include temperature, relative humidity, irrigation, soil moisture and electrical conductivity, which is a measure of the levels of fertiliser. “The service is aimed mainly at substrate crops and is available on any internet-enabled device to provide accurate, real-time data that can remotely track what is happening within the tunnel at critical times.” Data can be monitored and interpreted daily, weekly or monthly and patterns can help the grower decide on the most effective moisture, temperature and fertiliser regimes. Alerts can be set to warn of overheating or cooling, allowing growers to take action before the tunnel exceeds critical temperatures, either high or low. Humidity can also be monitored and set to trigger an alarm. The system can also be used to apply irrigation or fertigation remotely from a desktop computer or smartphone according to soil moisture status. “This helps optimise water and fertiliser use and can help improve crop quality,” said Mr Davies. Each tunnel monitoring system is bespoke, with growers able to choose from the basic system through to a highly advanced automated management tool.