Danish farming tool travels abroad

A new EU project paves the way for the transfer to Poland and Germany of Danish knowledge and experience with an IT-based decision support system for crop protection.

Work is good but twice the work is not twice as good. Therefore it is logical to use the knowledge and experience we already have, instead of having to start from scratch every time. This is the philosophy behind a new EU project that scientists from the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences at Aarhus University will be leading.

The project aims to adapt the weed module from the decision support tool Crop Protection Online to the farming systems, biology and language in the northern regions of Poland and Germany, focusing on winter wheat. At the same time, some of the basic functions that are used to quantify the weed control will be expanded through, for example, having Danish, Polish and German participants exchange knowledge and experiences on the interaction between crops, herbicides and pesticides.

Danish system on the Internet

In collaboration with the Danish agricultural advisory system and Danish farmers, scientists from the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences have developed a web-based system that helps farmers make the most appropriate decisions on weed control in agricultural crops.

Using this decision support tool, the farmer can limit his spraying to exactly where and when it is needed and at the required dosage. This saves the farmer and the environment from a superfluous use of herbicides.

Direct support for farmers

The system is an aid for farmers and the agricultural advisory system. Although Danish farmers are well supported by the agricultural advisors, there are some things that the advisors cannot do.

- It is just not possible for the advisor to get into every single corner of every single field. Only the farmers can do that. With the special knowledge of their own weed problems, they can use the weed module of Crop Protection Online to make some sensible and environmentally sound decisions, says academic employee Per Rydahl from the Department of Integrated Pest Management at the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, who is leading the project.

The project, called DSS Herbicide, is financed by the EU South Baltic Programme.