New app for tough decisions

Canola growers and agronomists have a new app for their digital toolbox, with the release of a free app designed to help work out how to manage sclerotinia stem rot.

The SclerotiniaCM app was unveiled at Grains Research and Development Corporation’s grains research update on Tuesday.

App users can input digital paddock data as well as recent and expected weather conditions.

The app then uses a forecasting model to generate the predicted return from a fungicide treatment in dollars per hectare, working out the profitability of a negative or positive return, before generating a range of tables and graphs.

The app was developed by a collaboration led by the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development with co-investment from the GRDC.

DPIRD principal research officer Art Diggle said it was designed to help canola growers make more informed decisions about fungicide applications to optimise yields and minimise costs.

Dr Diggle said the app was designed for use during the growing season to assist crucial treatment decisions using evidence- based information to estimate the likely returns from spraying for sclerotinia for individual paddock scenarios.

The app was tested by growers and consultants from across WA’s agricultural region last year.

It also includes videos to show farmers how to use it.

For more details about the apps visit agric.wa.gov.au.