Farmers Can Access Insect Control Guide With New App

Feb 15, 2017

By Ms. Susan M. Collins-Smith

Mississippi agronomic crop producers now have an important insect control reference guide available on their mobile devices.

“Insect Control Guide for Agronomic Crops,” a publication of the Mississippi State University Extension Service, helps farmers estimate the performance of various insecticides on cotton, soybeans, corn, grain sorghum, small grains, rice and peanuts.

“We’ve had requests from producers for a few years for this guide to be available through a mobile app,” said Angus Catchot, Extension entomologist. “So we’ve been working to meet that need and make it happen. We are happy to say that users will now have this guide available at the touch of a button anytime they need it.”

Apple device users can download the app from the Apple iTunes Store now. An Android compatible version will be released soon.

The app allows farmers to enter the crop, pest and insecticide they wish to use to get specific threshold, application rates, a photo of the pest, and an insecticide performance rating of 1 through 10. MSU entomologists offer additional information on each pest through the app.

For detailed information on how to use the app, read the MSU Extension Mississippi Crop Situation Blog at http://bit.ly/2kjmD3I.

Producers who downloaded the beta version during the Row Crop Short Course in December should download the new version.

Catchot developed the app with Whitney Crow, Extension associate; Jeff Gore, Extension and research entomologist with the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station; and Don Cook, Experiment Station research entomologist.

Source: msstate.edu

Video: Why Invest in Canada’s Seed Future? | On The Brink: Episode 3

Darcy Unger just invested millions to build a brand-new seed plant on his farm in Stonewall, Manitoba so when it’s time for his sons to take over, they have the tools they need to succeed.

Right now, 95% of the genetics they’ll be growing come from Canadian plant breeders.

That number matters.

When fusarium hit Western Canada in the late 90s, it was Canadian breeders who responded, because they understood Canadian conditions. That ability to react quickly to what’s happening on Canadian farms is exactly what’s at risk when breeding programs lose funding.

For farmers like Darcy, who have made generational investments based on the assumption that better genetics will keep coming, the stakes are direct and personal.

We’re on the brink of decisions that will shape our agricultural future for not only our generation, but also the ones to come.

What direction will we choose?

On The Brink is a year-long video series traveling across Canada to meet the researchers, breeders, farmers, seed companies, and policymakers shaping the future of Canadian plant breeding. Each week, a new story. Each story, a piece of the bigger picture.

Episode 3 is above. Follow Seed World Canada to catch every episode, and tell us: Do you think the next generation will have the tools they need to success when they takeover? How is the future going to look?