Managing pests and diseases from the palm of your hand

Jan 12, 2018

Agrio can help farmers identify issues in their fields

By Diego Flammini
News Reporter
Farms.com

Farmers can use a new mobile app to identify problems in their field and determine how they should proceed to protect their crops.

A producer takes a photo of a weed, disease or pest in the field and uploads it to the app’s mobile server. Within minutes, the app Agrio will identify the image and provide the farmer with recommendations on how to proceed.

Approximately 30 crops and hundreds of weeds are programmed into the app, but those numbers are always changing, said Dr. Nessi Benishti, Agrio’s creator and a senior algorithm researcher from Oxford University.

“We have experts on the back end of the app that communicate with farmers around the world,” he told Farms.com today. “We continue to upload different crops, weeds, diseases and pests.”

The app is also capable of warning farmers when action is necessary.

When a grower uploads an image to the app, he or she is asked to input the location and weather conditions. Using that information, Agrio can tell a farmer when he or she needs to apply herbicides, fungicides of pesticides.

“We can give recommendations and tell farmers they need to start getting ready because their fields could be susceptible to damage,” he said. “Early detection is super important so we want to notify them as soon as they need that information.”

In addition, Agrio allows farmers from around the world to connect with one another.

After uploading pictures of weed, disease or insect pressure from their fields, producers can consult their colleagues for advice on how to manage the issue.

“We had a potato farmer in Fiji upload a photo of a diseased potato to the app,” Benishti said. “Not only did the user receive information from us, but also from agricultural specialists from the United States.”

Agrio is available for free on Apple and Android devices.

Don’t forget to visit the Farms.com apps page for a complete listing of ag-specific apps.

Video: Dicamba Returns for Georgia Farmers: What the New EPA Ruling Means for Cotton Growers

After being unavailable in 2024 due to registration issues, dicamba products are returning for Georgia farmers this growing season — but under strict new conditions.

In this report from Tifton, Extension Weed Specialist Stanley Culpepper explains the updated EPA ruling, including new application limits, mandatory training requirements, and the need for a restricted use pesticide license. Among the key changes: a cap of two ½-pound applications per year and the required use of an approved volatility reduction agent with every application.

For Georgia cotton producers, the ruling is significant. According to Taylor Sills with the Georgia Cotton Commission, the vast majority of cotton planted in the state carries the dicamba-tolerant trait — meaning farmers had been paying for technology they couldn’t use.

While environmental groups have expressed concerns over spray drift, Georgia growers have reduced off-target pesticide movement by more than 91% over the past decade. Still, this two-year registration period will come with increased scrutiny, making stewardship and compliance more important than ever.