Real-time crop disease forecasts added to service

Machinery Real-time crop disease forecasts added to service

Weather station network provider Sencrop is adding crop disease risk modelling to the information available for its service subscribers. David Williams reports.

Harry Atkinson (left) with James Forrest.

Sencrop has more than 22,000 weather stations operating on farms across Europe, including more than 1,500 in the UK. The stations are connected to Sencrop’s cloud-based network, and subscribers can access precise agricultural weather data collected from stations on their own farms, from anywhere through the company’s easy-to-use app. This allows users to make fact-based decisions regarding farm and crop management.

Versatile system

The weather stations are connected wirelessly through the Sigfox network which allows them to achieve a reliable data signal almost anywhere. Multiple stations can be added to one user account for display through the Sencrop app, providing an instant overview of climatic conditions across the farm. Stations can also be easily moved between elds to monitor particular crops within a rotation, or where land is rented on short-term agreements. As soon as the station is relocated then it automatically appears in its new position on the network map.

Subscription-based

Users purchase a Sencrop weather station and then add it to their account. Subscription costs are based on the number of weather stations monitored, or the number of users with access to the data, and it is also practical for neighbouring smaller farms to share data from one weather station while paying a single subscription. Subscribers can also view data from other Sencrop stations anywhere on the network up to the maximum number permitted by their subscription level.

Simple and accurate

There are three station types: Connected rain gauge (which monitors rainfall, temperature, and humidity); Connected wind gauge (wind strength and direction); and a Leaf wetness sensor (for specialist applications such as orchards and vineyards). The most common set-up chosen by UK farms is a combined rain gauge and wind gauge installation, which counts as two units for subscription and monitoring purposes.

Successful farm trial

Two years ago, Farmers Guide began trials of Sencrop’s system with Su olk farmer James Forrest. Trading as Forrest Farms, James grows approximately 1,600ha of arable crops on owned and contract-farmed land. With the main areas in three blocks up to 12 miles apart, placing weather stations at each site allowed conditions to be remotely monitored so that eld working decisions could be made without the need for someone to travel to assess the situation by car. The trial was successful, and James later invested in additional Sencrop units for even more accurate monitoring of his farm through 12 stations at six locations.

Continued value

Speaking in February this year, James said the Sencrop system continues to provide value and saves the busy farm team a lot of time. Most machinery operators have the app installed on their phones, allowing them to view data from all the stations. “It helps us make decisions where weather is a factor all the time,” James explained. “With the land so spread out, it’s surprising how conditions at one location can be so di erent to another and when rain showers make it too wet for eld work in one location, we can nd out in seconds if it’s drier elsewhere. Everyone likes the app and nds it user-friendly. The weather stations have all been reliable and if problems have occurred in accessing data, then we have simply turned the station o and on again and the service has resumed.”

Disease forecasts added

Sencrop trialled its disease forecasting feature last year – with a focus on blight prediction for potato growers. This year the system will provide forecasts for cereal growers too. Users can either select multiple nearby stations for climatic condition monitoring and the disease risk will be based on those locations, or users can list crop types on a farm eld map, and the Sencrop app will automatically identify the nearest stations to use for data monitoring – even if they belong to a neighbour.

Disease risk modelling is based on pre-set parameters for the crop including; type, location, and drilling date, but users can also adjust the alert sensitivity.

Optimised timings

“It could be a useful addition,” commented James. “If by using it we can time our fungicide applications better then it could have quite an e ect. When we get it wrong, we use more chemical, it costs more and it’s less e ective, so reliable fungal disease forecasting would be a useful aid to our decision-making process.

“We always aim for the best crops and best results while trying to reduce dependence on crop protection products. To do that, we must get the best result from whatever we apply. I’m all in favour of technology when it works and provides bene ts, and if this helps ne-tune applications based on precise, local information relative to our farm then I can’t argue with it. Where crops are of high value, or particularly vulnerable to fungal diseases then we would also consider investing in additional ‘ oating’ units to move around the farm.”

Free addition

Sencrop UK business development manager Harry Atkinson said disease forecasting will be free to customers on the highest subscription level. “We believe it will prove a useful tool for professional growers as disease risk assessments and warnings are based on climatic data from stations very local to the crops. Rainfall, temperature, and humidity variations can be extremely localised, and relying on general data from a regional forecasting service just doesn’t provide the same accuracy.

“As well as trials with potato and cereal crops, we have also been working with the BBRO to develop disease risk data for sugar beet. Cercospora is a particular problem, and if we can help growers and the sugar industry target treatments e ectively then this could bring big bene ts.” FG

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