Lead Researcher | Daniel Itenfisu |
Co-Researcher(s) | David Clarke, Huamei Yin, Pawel Pytlak, Scott Meers, Shelley Barkley, Swaroop Kher |
Start Date | April 2014 |
End Date | March 2018 |
Funding Partners | N/A |
Status | Complete |
Management strategies for insects typically have a reactionary response to damage due to spring being a busy time for growers. Having a better insect predictor model based on the weather for insect management throughout Alberta would be a very beneficial tool for the grower and environment.
Develop a provincial weather-based near real-time crop insect-pest monitoring and prediction model, initially focussing on the Bertha Armyworm, Wheat Midge and Alfalfa Weevil.
The results of the models for the three pests and their natural enemies have been integrated and coded to create the AB-WIPP (Alberta Weather-based Insect Pest Prediction) mobile-friendly web pages available at the Alberta Climate Information Services (ACIS) website. Producers, entomologists, and agriculture field people will be sought after for feedback and validation on model and web application.
By accessing the website (weatherdata.ca/m), growers and industry people can easily discover information on the risk/threat, life cycle, outbreak cycles and more in their area on Bertha Armyworm, Wheat Midge and Alfalfa Weevil.
Keywords: Bertha Armyworm, Wheat Midge, Alfalfa Weevil. Weather, Prediction model, Pest prediction model, ACIS