Instruments of the warning service for plant protection in Bayern (Germany)*

The warning service for plant protection in Bayern (Germany) obtains its information mainly from its own observations. The appearance of pests (including diseases and weeds) is investigated in cultivated areas and field trials. Weather data complementary to the pest enquiries can be made available from a measuring network of 116 field weather stations and is used to estimate the development of pests in relation to weather requirements. For several fungi and animal pests, computer‐based decision support systems (DSSs) and forecasting models are being used. The results are processed and passed on to farmers via circulars, branch reviews, public notices, telephonic announcement services, telefax services and the Internet.     

The status of warning services for plant pests in Italy*

A survey of the present status of warning services for plant protection in Italy shows the lack of a national project, so that the different regional governments approach the question in different ways. In spite of this, some common characters are present: (1) most of the regions manage the warning service directly; (2) everywhere, the warning service interacts with research institutes, farmers’ associations, agrometeorological networks and other warning services; (3)‘indirect warning’ is the prevalent model of organization; geographical areas are divided into homogeneous subareas, where information useful for producing advice is collected and elaborated; warnings are then disseminated by different means of communication, and farmers comply with them autonomously; (4) warnings are usually prepared by a team of advisers, who meet periodically, analyse available information and elaborate suggestions for crop protection; (5) available information comes from field monitoring, weather stations, insect and spore traps, forecasting models for pests and diseases; unfortunately, forecasting models are not widespread; (6) the content of warnings is rather uniform, including information on crops, pests and diseases, suggestions for control strategies and, frequently, meteorological conditions and forecasts; (7) different means are used to disseminate warnings to farmers; usually several methods co‐exist: bulletins published in local newspapers, sent by mail or fax, displayed on notice boards or available via the Internet; placards; telephone messages; surveys on local TV or radio.     

Intranet in Baden‐Württemberg (Germany) – using the technology of the Internet for internal information interchange within a State Plant Protection Service*

This article describes the new possibilities of an intranet for internal interchange of information within the plant protection service of a German federal state. In Baden‐Württemberg, the precondition is a closed internal network with central information servers and workstations at the local offices of agriculture. The intranet with information servers is based on the technology of the Internet and is a modern and user‐friendly tool for supplying advisers highly efficiently and economically with current comments, relevant notices, files, weather data and evalutions of computer aids for decision‐making. In the last 2 years, significant progress has been made in the automation of procedures for data request, transmission and evaluation of weather data for the warning service. In the plant protection service of Baden‐Württemberg, the most important data‐processing routines and evaluations of computer aids for decision‐making are running automatically as batch files. In order to save time in the preparation of regional warnings, the relevant information is available to the advisers via intranet at the beginning of their work. Compared with traditional procedures, the intranet with information servers is advantageous to the information supplier (Central Institute of Plant Protection) as well as to the user (advisers at the local offices of agriculture).     

农作物病虫害防治农药速查系统构建与应用

为了让农户能够直观了解及掌握常见病虫害的防治信息,帮助农户通过智能手机在农田、果园和茶园等现场方便快捷地获取作物病虫害图文识别要点与科学防治方法,为农户提供在线植保技术服务,本研究采用RESTful Web 服务架构设计,运用HTML5移动Web开发技术,借助微信平台作为用户访问入口,开发了一款跨平台 (android/iOS) 的农药速查软件系统,实现了农药信息查询、病虫害图谱查询及后台数据管理等功能。通过建立农药与病虫害间的关联关系,实现了从农药名称和病虫害名称两个途径查询农药信息;所构建的数据库涵盖了蔬菜、果树、水稻、茶叶及烟草等共30种福建省常规种植作物上的重要病虫害农药防治技术。初步运用验证结果表明,该系统整体实用性和稳定性较好,适合在农村基层推广应用。基于微信平台的农药速查系统能够满足植保新技术普及和应用的需求,可为农户提供简单便捷、对症下药的在线植保科技服务,对提高用户安全施药和科学防控能力、推进农药的增效减量均具有重要意义。     

http://www.isip.de– online plant protection information in Germany*

The demand for information from agricultural professionals is increasing steadily but can be met with the use of modern communications technologies. Consequently, governmental extension services in Germany have introduced the Information System for Integrated Plant Production (ISIP). ISIP, an Internet‐based information system, gives rapid and convenient access to all data necessary for integrated plant production. Target groups are farmers as well as extension workers. The system focuses on problem‐specific decision support modules for a range of agronomical and horticultural crops. In ISIP, such a module does not only comprise a model for decision support. Due to the fact that a model is only a simplified representation of reality, simulation results are supplemented by monitoring data (if available) and a comment of a regional extension worker. This ‘threefold decision support’ is one of the unique features of ISIP. The framework of ISIP integrating independent models for decision support is built in an open and readily extensible architecture. To incorporate new simulation approaches, the concept of a ‘master component’ frees the developer from technical details and provides a comparatively simple integration. This speeds up model development and ensures a fast knowledge transfer.     

中国农作物有害生物监控信息系统的建立与应用

中国农作物有害生物监控信息系统将计算机网络技术和植物保护专业技术相结合,构建了我国农作物病虫害监测预警和控制体系基础平台,实现了全国主要病虫害监控信息的网络传输、分析处理和资源共享,推进了我国农作物病虫害监测预警信息化进程。     

Decision support systems: barriers and farmers’ need for support*

The highly complex knowledge of scientific disciplines makes nuanced analysis and modelling possible. However, the information produced often does not reach farmers because it is presented in a way that does not correspond to the way their work is carried out in practice. The decision support system Crop Protection Online is widely used by advisors and as a learning tool for students. Although the system has been validated in many field trials over the years and has shown reliable results, the number of end‐users among farmers has been relatively low during the last 10 years (approximately 1000 farmers). A sociological investigation of farmers’ decision‐making styles in the area of crop protection has shown that arable farmers can be divided into three major groups: (a) system‐orientated farmers, (b) experience‐based farmers and (c) advisory‐orientated farmers. The information required by these three groups to make their decisions varies and therefore different ways of using decision support systems need to be provided. Decision support systems need to be developed in close dialogue and collaboration with user groups.     

Problems with disseminating information on disease control in wheat and barley to farmers

Plant pathologists have traditionally worked in the area of clarifying and understanding the disease cycles of specific diseases, factors influencing epidemiology, yield loss potential and host-pathogen interactions in order to be able to minimise the disease risk, build warning systems or recommend specific control thresholds in relation to the application of fungicides. The decision support system Crop Protection Online (CPO) is an example of a threshold-based system that determines economically viable fungicide strategies. The system is based on using appropriate doses aimed at minimising the overall pesticide input. CPO is used widely by advisors and many of the thresholds are generally accepted and disseminated through newsletters. The national figures for the use of fungicides in cereals have shown a major reduction during the last 20 years and their use today is much in line with the level that can be achieved from using CPO as indicated from validation trials. The number of end-users among farmers has been stable at around 3% during the last 10 years (800–1,000 farmers). Major hurdles in increasing the number of users are believed to be: (1) the requirements for carrying out assessments in the field, (2) farm sizes getting larger, leaving less time for decision making for individual fields, (3) lack of economic incentives to change from standard treatments, (4) the failure of decision support systems to interact with other computer-based programmes on the farm, (5) the lack of compatibility of decision support systems with farmers’ ways of making decisions on crop protection in general, (6) the need for direct interactions with advisors. A sociological investigation into the farmers’ way of making decisions in the area of crop protection has shown that arable farmers can be divided into three major groups: (a) systems-orientated farmers, (b) experienced-based farmers and (c) advisory-orientated farmers. The information required by these three groups is different and has to be looked at individually from the end-user’s perspective rather than from the scientist’s perspective. New ways of entering the decision support system where specific field inspections are omitted and where regional disease data are relied on, have been investigated and tested in field trials. The results show possibilities for further developments in that direction, which might be one way of gaining more end-users.     

Sampling for decision making in crop loss assessment and pest management: introduction

ABSTRACT Data obtained by sampling are crucial for decision making in crop loss assessment and pest management. Such data improve farmers' perceptions of the threat of pests and can, therefore, improve the quality of decision making in the practice of crop protection. The concept of a threshold, representing the dividing line between two alternative courses of action relating to seed or crop health, is an important aspect of crop protection decision making. Sampling is the means by which the required judgment can be guided. Operating characteristic curves are an important tool in the evaluation and comparison of the performance of sampling schemes. Precision integrated pest management, in which the objective is spatially variable pest management within fields, poses new problems for decision makers and statisticians developing sampling methodology in the context of crop protection.     

Ergebnisse aus 10 Jahren Untersuchungen zum notwendigen Maß im Netz Vergleichsbetriebe Pflanzenschutz

The reduction of risks associated with plant protection products is the main goal of the National Action Plan on sustainable use of plant protection products. One further goal is the use of plant protection products according to the necessary minimum. This aim serves also as an indicator with the target that 95% of pesticide applications are within the necessary minimum. For this purpose, the data from the Reference Farm Network on the intensity of pesticide use are assessed. With the current study we summarize the result for arable crops over the ten-year project period and investigate in detail the assessments from 2014 until 2016. The results show, that the majority of pesticide treatments are evaluated within the necessary minimum. Deviations occur especially for fungicide and insecticide treatments. Other factors, such as regional weather and pest or disease occurrence, production specific factors as well as farmers’ decision processes additionally influence the annual pesticide use intensity and the necessary minimum. Existing technologies, decision support systems and recommendations from advisory service should be better exploited in order to minimize those deviations.     

The western corn rootworm,a new threat to European agriculture: opportunities for biotechnology?

BACKGROUND: During the early 1990s, the western corn rootworm, Diabrotica virgifera virgifera Le Conte (WCR), a maize pest, invaded the European continent. The continuous spread of the pest has introduced a new constraint into European maize production. As the damage caused by the invasive species is highly variable and different crop protection (CP) strategies are available, farmers' optimal strategies are not obvious. This study uses a simulation model to assess the competitiveness of different CP strategies in seven Central European countries. RESULTS: Results indicate a high degree of heterogeneity in the profitability of different CP strategies, depending on the production parameters in each country. In general, crop rotation and Bt maize offer the best solutions to farmers, but, in continuous (non‐rotated) maize cultivation, chemical CP options may capture part of the market. For Austrian continuous maize production it is found that not deregulating Bt maize implies that farmers forego revenues of up to €59 ha^?1. CONCLUSIONS: In the presence of WCR, producing maize by an economically sound method requires incorporating country‐ and farm‐specific characteristics into the decision framework. Also, not deregulating Bt maize has direct monetary consequences for many farmers that could influence total maize output and resistance management. Copyright © 2010 Society of Chemical Industry     

Monitoring and forecasting in plant protection in the German Democratic Republic

In the GDR, a regional pest monitoring scheme run by the State Plant Protection Service collects data on 87 pests for preparing national pest management warnings and recommendations and for strategic planning. Within each farm, plant protection specialists follow a field-level crop monitoring procedure to guide them in their immediate decision making. Regional 'standard values for control', oriented according to national economic requirements, are adjusted in the light of immediate local ecological and agrotechnical conditions into 'control thresholds' used for local decision making. Simulation models assist in fixing these control indices. In particular, SIMPHYT I and SIMPHYT II calculate the course of Phytophthora infestans epidemics and provide the basis for the PHYTEB forecasting procedure. These systems have been operational in GDR since 1982 and in general result in saving at least one spray per season. SIMPHYT III, a new system under trial, incorporates fungicide behaviour as well, SIMLEP I has been operational since 1983 and provides forecasts of Colorado beetle populations. Five other such systems are at an advanced stage of development. In orchards control decisions will instead be based on locally installed automatic microchip-based warning devices. These monitor temperature, humidity, leaf wetness and wind velocity and can be programmed for all the major orchard pests and diseases. Trials in five intensive orchards in 1982/84 have been given very promising results and it is suggested that one such device, representative of an area of 500–1000 ha, could save about 150,000 Marks per annum in reducing the number of 'insurance' sprays.     

Decision support systems used in the Netherlands for reduction in the input of active substances in agriculture

Since the middle of the 1980s, Dutch farmers have been using decision support systems (DSS) as an aid in the control of pests. This started with EPIPRE, then weather-related potato blight warning systems were developed (Prophy and Plant-Plus). In the 1990s, many weather-based DSS were developed against pests of orchards, flower bulbs, arable crops and field-produced vegetables. Also, a DSS was developed to predict and check the effect of meteorological conditions on the effectiveness of application timing of plant protection products (GEWIS). The use of these systems resulted in more sustainable crop protection: sustainable because the use of DSS led to a lower risk of crop damage and, in many cases, to a lower input of active substances, by optimization of the product and dose to actual phytosanitary and meteorological conditions. The use of GEWIS to ensure application at the right time of day further reduced the input of active substances and increased efficacy.     

Rational arrangement of a network for disease survey on a regional scale*

The forecasting and warning system of Emilia‐Romagna region (Italy) produces warnings for crop protection against diseases, using information from weather stations, biological surveys on a network of observation fields and simulation models. The network of field observations is crucial for the efficiency of the service but, unfortunately, the human and economic resources available for their management are usually less than needed. Therefore, the number of observation fields is insufficient to cover the entire territory uniformly, so that their geographical distribution increases in importance. In this work, a method for rational arrangement of observation fields on a regional scale is proposed. It uses models simulating crop growth and disease outbreak, both using meteorological data available on a 5‐km mesh, to draw maps showing homogeneous areas within the territory. For the main pathogens of winter wheat (Erysiphe graminis, Puccinia striiformis, Puccinia recondita and Fusarium subsp.), disease risk is calculated when host plants are susceptible to infection, and both static and dynamic maps are drawn. The use of maps is discussed in arranging observation fields and in timing field surveys.     

An Internet‐based decision‐support system for insect pests of rape*

A decision‐support system (DSS) has been developed for the holistic management of the invertebrate pest complex of rape. Traditionally, management of one pest has been done in isolation from any other. However, the control tactics used for one may impinge upon the management of other invertebrates. At present, the DSS contains procedures for the concurrent management of five pests. An Internet version of the system has been developed using a combination of Java and Cold Fusion to facilitate the delivery of information.     

The Forecasting System for Plant Protection in the USSR: Its Theory,Methods and Organization1

In the USSR, the system of forecasting the occurrence of crop pests and diseases consists of long-term, yearly or seasonal forecasts, and a warning service. They allow for prophylactic plant protection to be adequately planned and organized both on a country-wide and a regional scale. Theoretically, all kinds of forecasts are based on a knowledge of the population dynamics of pests. The criteria used to develop forecasts are the state of certain climatic and energetic factors during previous seasons, which determine the morphophysiological features of populations and the way they will react to the environment in the future. On this basis, mathematical formulae can be developed and the management of pest population dynamics can be planned. The main biological information required for forecasting is collected by the State Plant Protection Service. Data on climatic conditions and the state of crops are supplied by the Hydrometeorological Service. Methods of data collection, treatment and interpretation are developed by research institutes according to the accepted model of pest population dynamics. En URSS, les previsions se font a long terme, a echeance d'une annee et sous forme d'avertissements saisonniers. La protection des plantes peut, de ce fait, etre planifiee a I'echelle nationale et regionale. En principe, toutes les previsions sont basees sur la connaissance de la dynamique des populations de ravageurs et maladies. Les criteres utilises pour la preparation de previsions comprennent le recours a une serie de facteurs climatiques et energetiques qui ont prevalu durant les saisons precedentes. Ceux-ci determinent les caracteristiques morphophysiologiques des populations et la faGon dont elles vont repondre aux conditions de I'environnement. Ceci permet de developper des formules mathematiques de prevision et de planifier le management des populations des depredateurs. La plus grande partie des donnees necessaires a ces previsions sont recueillies par le Service de la protection des vegetaux. Les donnees sur le climat et sur la phenologie des cultures parviennent au Service hydrometeorologique, alors que les methodes de lutte sont developpees par les instituts de recherches, sur la base de modeles de la dynamique des populations.     

The Danish Integrated Farm Management System—sector module for plant production1

The Danish Integrated Farm Management System is a PC-based system developed by the Danish agricultural advisory service covering all management and control aspects of a farm. It consists of a joint module linking a number of sector modules (cattle production, plant production, economy, pig production and buildings/machinery). The sector module for plant production provides facilities for detailed planning, decision support and control, including all subjects of a complete cultivation plan for each individual field. The fertilizer plan and the crop protection plan provide detailed specifications within the overall cultivation plan. For decision support there are advanced sub-modules for fertilization, crop protection and grassland management. PC-Plant Protection is an optional and fully integrated sub-module of The Integrated Farm Management System, or a self-contained program product.     

proPlant expert.com – an online consultation system on crop protection in cereals,rape, potatoes and sugarbeet*

The internet‐based system proPlant expert.com assists farmers in making field‐specific decisions on fungicide and growth regulator application in cereals, insecticide and growth regulator application in rape, and fungicide application in potatoes and sugarbeet. Any consultation is based on both agricultural data and weather reports drawn from official meteorological services. Together with information on the infestation level, the system processes this data to develop a recommendation on the application of a specific plant protection product, if necessary. Farmers and consultancies have been using the service in Germany and other European countries since 2001. Before starting the service in other countries, parts of the software had to be altered to meet the specific requirements of our partners outside Germany.     

开放式网络病虫信息管理平台的组建与实现

为有效管理和利用植物保护系统的各种病虫资料信息,应用网络脚本语言PHP、网络服务器Apache及MySQL数据库构建了一套基于网络的病虫信息管理系统。系统采用开放式的设计模式,组建了用户管理模块、动态树型菜单模块、在线建表模块、数据表管理模块、日程提醒模块、资料统计对比模块、图形显示模块等。用户可根据自己需要在线建立数据表;系统将动态树型菜单与在线建表模块相互结合,实现了对各种表格的管理,包括表格的创建、数据的查询、汇总、比较及图形化显示等功能,用户通过Internet在系统的帮助下,可建立适合本地实际、满足自己需要的病虫信息管理系统。