Three NDSU Extension Service publications are available on one app for smartphone and tablet users.
The free app contains the "North Dakota Weed Control Guide," "Field Crop Fungicide Guide" and "Insect Management Guide."
Some of the tools in the app give users the ability to search by crop or pest to find solutions to problems or recommended treatments. Growers also can save or mark their favorite areas. Pictures of pests, weeds and diseased plants are included to make in-field comparisons.
Crops included in the NDSU Pest Management app are corn, soybeans, dry beans, sunflowers, sugar beets, potatoes and small grains. Additional crops may be added in the future. Because the app is a dynamic tool, it can be updated at any time with the latest information, compared with the printed versions of each guide.
Lead authors of the publications are Richard Zollinger, NDSU Extension weed specialist and plant sciences professor; Sam Markell, Extension plant pathologist and assistant professor; and Janet Knodel, Extension entomologist and associate professor.
The commodity groups supporting the planning, implementation and ongoing maintenance of the app are the North Dakota Corn Council, North Dakota Soybean Council, Sugarbeet Research and Education Board, North Dakota Wheat Commission, Northarvest Bean Growers Association, Northern Plains Potato Growers Association and National Sunflower Association.
"For almost a year, Angela Kazmierczak, weed science research specialist, spearheaded the collaboration among researchers, Extension faculty and commodity groups," Zollinger says. "Hundreds of hours were invested in loading detailed information into the software app on identification, prevention and treatment of weeds and pests in North Dakota crops."
Technical work was done by Myriad Devices, a company based in the NDSU Research and Technology Park incubator and founded by NDSU Electrical and Computer Engineering faculty and students.
Go to www.ag.ndsu.edu/extension/apps for more information on the pest management and other NDSU Extension apps.
NDSU is recognized as one of the nation’s top 108 public and private universities by the Carnegie Commission on Higher Education.