PLANNING AND LEADERSHIP FOR A BETTER WORLD
PLANNING AND LEADERSHIP FOR A BETTER WORLD Scientists at the U.S. Department of Agriculture have developed software that tells farmers when to spray pesticides and apply fertilizers.
Specifically, the software, called the PhenologyMMS (Modular Modeling System), predicts the timing of plant growth stages so Central Great Plains farmers and ranchers can know how their crops are progressing and when to apply pesticides, fertilizers and water. PhenologyMMS also helps them time other management tasks.
The software was developed by agronomist Greg McMaster, who works at the (ARS) Agricultural Research Service Agricultural Systems Research Unit in Fort Collins, Colo. ARS is USDA's principal intramural scientific research agency. Working with Debbie Edmunds, a biological plant science technician at the research unit, McMaster developed this decision-support tool after answering numerous calls from farmers and ranchers who wondered when their crop would be at the right stage to spray, as recommended by the pesticide label.
After all, the pesticide label gives the scientific name of the growth stage, but no other hints. McMaster's program provides the common names that go with the scientific names and tells growers how to identify the crop’s stage and when to expect each stage, based on weather reports and soil moisture.
To find the right timing, farmers answer questions such as, “What is your planting date?” and “How wet was your soil at planting time?” To answer the second question, farmers choose one of these descriptions of soil moisture: “optimum,” “medium,” “dry” or “planted in dust.” Farmers then identify the nearest weather station to access weather data to run a simplified model of growth for each crop they are growing. The driving force of the program is cumulative temperature.
The program then simulates crop growth stages for the entire growing season, giving farmers a good idea of when each stage should occur.
The program is unique because it covers many crops. Most similar programs cover only one crop. “This program includes corn, wheat, barley, sorghum, dry beans, sunflowers and several millet varieties, and is continually being expanded,” McMaster said in a release.
This entire area of crop management has always been deemed critical. As one would expect, timely application of fertilizer, pesticides and water have a significant affect on crop yields. In fact, one assessment found that between 40 percent and 60 percent of crop yields are attributable to proper application of commercial fertilizer use.
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