If you are a potato grower – we need your help.

Fera and CHAP are pleased to announce that CropMonitor will be launching a new pest and disease risk forecasting service for potatoes in May. We are looking for volunteers to be part of a network of surveillance to report appearance of first symptoms in crops. Data will be collected from registered users via a mobile phone during the decision period for potato blight disease management. All data will be plotted in real-time on a map of the UK.

This new service is part of Fera’s CropMonitor platform with direct support from CHAP, is currently being extended and updated to form the core platform for a new national capability in decision support. The new service will deliver risk forecasts for pests and diseases of potato (launched in May), wheat, barley, oilseed rape using a bespoke weather monitoring network, national pest and disease surveillance data and advanced risk models.

Register to receive email or SMS updates

If you would like to register to receive email or SMS alerts, please complete and submit the form below:

The following information will be collected:

Date

Location (GPS)

Crop growth stage

Presence/absence of late blight symptoms

Date of commencement of spraying

Once a field is reported to be showing symptoms then no further reports will be required.

This new service will be available alongside the Fight Against Blight project (FAB, funded by AHDB Potatoes and managed by Fera). The additional activity is necessary because FAB does not currently collect negative findings, information which is critical to the validation of the SMART blight forecasting service, . The CHAP network will complement and extend the FAB network during 2018 with potential for a closer integration of the two initiatives in future years. CropMonitor will initially provide a forecast based on an existing blight risk model but the forecasting capability will be refined using the improved weather feed and disease modelling capability of the SMART platform.

To Join the Participatory Network

To join the participatory network and for more information please contact cropmonitor@fera.co.uk.

CHAP

CHAP is one of four Centres for Agricultural Innovation and a key component of the government’s Agri-Tech Strategy.

Diagnose my crop problem

Initial assessment typically includes visual examination of your sample by our plant pathologists to assess the most probable cause and appropriate method of testing (please be aware this does not include screening for viral pathogens).

Potato Testing

Fera offer an extensive range of potato testing from detecting the presence of ring rot to fatty acid profiling to cyst nematodes.

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