The Brazilian Enterprise for Agricultural Research (Embrapa) has launched SISALERT, a warning system that reports the threat of mildew and powdery mildew; two of the diseases raising the greatest concerns amongst grape growers of the São Francisco river valley, which will no longer require a weekly schedule of applications of protective and curative fungicides.
Simply with Internet access and a few clicks on the computer, producers will be in control of the SISALERT (System Risk Prevention of Epidemic Diseases of Plants) digital platform and will be able to request the system for information on the risk of the appearance of the fungi that cause mildew and powdery mildew.
The system is still being fine-tuned; however, in tests carried out during different stages of the vine pruning, Embrapa researchers and the Federal University of Passo Fundo in Rio Grande do Sul reported successful control rates ranging between 75 and 94%.
The system collects and processes meteorological data obtained from automatic weather stations predicting growth and crop development, in addition to diseases. In summary, it compiles information about the host-pathogen-environment interaction simulating the risk of disease and supplying this information to the producer.
For more information:
Embrapa Semiárido
semiarido.imprensa@embrapa.br