{"id":88975,"date":"2018-07-23T10:27:14","date_gmt":"2018-07-23T14:27:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/?p=88975"},"modified":"2024-04-16T16:51:58","modified_gmt":"2024-04-16T20:51:58","slug":"canadian-farmers-get-app-help-fight-pests-keep-food-safe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/canadian-farmers-get-app-help-fight-pests-keep-food-safe\/","title":{"rendered":"Canadian Farmers Get App to Help Fight Pests, Keep Food Safe"},"content":{"rendered":"
Canadian farmers have a new tool to help them fight pests thanks to the ingenuity of researchers at the 麻豆原创 and the University of Manitoba.<\/p>\n
Researchers, led by 麻豆原创 Associate Professor of biology Barbara Sharanowski, have developed the Mobile IPM app, which allows farmers to quickly identify crop pests and suggests effective integrated pest management strategies.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe app helps farmers avoid unnecessary pesticide treatments to minimize negative effects to the ecosystem.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\u201cThe app helps farmers avoid unnecessary pesticide treatments to minimize negative effects to the ecosystem, preserve pollinators and beneficial organisms, and minimize economic damage and maximize profits,\u201d Sharanowski says.<\/p>\n
The IPM strategies, around since the 1970s, are eco- friendly and help prevent unnecessary chemicals from entering the food chain and harming both the natural habitat and consumers who eat the products. The strategies also recognize that farmers have to bring crops to an international market.<\/p>\n
The three components to the app are:<\/p>\n
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- An interactive identification tool for quick crop pests (insects and weeds to come soon)<\/li>\n
- A real-time pest monitoring tool to discover the pest risk for your region<\/li>\n
- A crop management tool to log information about your crop fields and storage units<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Some of the crops covered by the app are significant exports for Canada including oilseeds, cereals, and pulses such as peas, lentils and beans.<\/p>\n
Identification uses interactive key technology with high resolution images that makes identification very simple. Each pest has detailed information on its biology and control tactics, including economic injury levels and registered pesticides. The app is simple enough that specialists and non-specialists alike can use it. It also has a push notification feature to get updates about emerging pests in real time.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe wanted to create an app that provides quick and convenient access to information.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n