WSU To Provide BC Growers With Important New Orchard Management Resource

WSU helps Canadian Tree Fruit Growers get an edge on Pest Management. I'm Susan Allen with your Fruit Grower Report. Called the Cadillac of pest managements decision support systems, beloved by Washington Growers, British Columbia growers will now have complete access to it as well.

Here is info's Matt Rice:

RICE: Washington State University will provide British Columbia growers in the Okanagan with an important new resource to improve orchard management. Washington State University's Decision Aid System (DAS) is a web-based platform designed to transfer time-sensitive information on pest management to orchardists, using real-time, local weather data and scientific pest and disease management information to help predict and manage pests and diseases.

Developing resources to link weather, pest and disease data with decision support tools was identified as a priority action under the Okanagan Regional Adaptation Strategy released earlier this summer by the British Columbia Agriculture and Food Climate Action Initiative. The regional strategy brought agricultural producers together with local governments and provincial agencies to identify collaborative solutions and actions to adapt to the climate change impacts identified for the Okanagan.

Melissa Tesche, Acting General Manager, Okanagan-Kootenay Sterile Insect Release Program says :The benefits to the Okanagan will extend beyond the growers – being more precise with chemical applications helps to maintain beneficial insect populations, reduces environmental impacts, and makes life even more pleasant for the communities bordering the orchards.""

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