Objective 1 - Develop an online tool for selecting pesticides. Two separate online tools will be created; one to choose soybean herbicides, and another to choose soybean insecticides. Our objective will be to provide guidance for choosing among all of the pesticides in the existing online soybean budget tool by also considering specific pests and efficacy data. Users will specify which species (weeds or insects) they are trying to control, along with any issues with resistance, and the herbicide tolerance traits present in the variety of soybean being planted. The pesticide selection tool will then winnow the available options to those that will be effective against the selected pests. Special consideration will be made to keep the format as simple as possible, to ensure that users with all levels of computer skills will be able to use the tool and interpret the outputs. For the initial development of the online tool, we will draw upon the same data sources as the existing online soybean budget tool for average pesticide prices, and allow users to adjust that value to more closely approximate their actual costs. The online tool will be posted alongside the online soybean budget tool on the UME Grain Marketing webpage (https://extension.umd.edu/grainmarketing), and links to the site will be posted on individual county websites.
Objective 2 - Produce reports of additional pest management strategies. Once a tool has been developed to optimize cost and efficacy of different pesticide programs, we will provide users reports of their selected pesticide program that include additional management strategies beyond pesticides. Our primary goal is to provide users with additional information that will ensure successful pest management, given the pesticide program that has been selected. This information will include optimal timing of pesticide applications, any adjuvants that should be included in the tank to improve efficacy, methods for scouting and thresholds to monitor, special regulations specific to different pesticide chemistries, and additional cultural or biological controls that might work in tandem with chemical controls. Recommendations for successful pesticide applications will be sourced from research sponsored by the MD Soybean Board and other state Soybean Boards within the Mid-Atlantic region.
These reports will be produced in a PDF format that users can download and save from the online pesticide selection tool. They will be auto-generated based on the information inputted into the website, and will essentially provide a personalized integrated pest management approach to managing insect and weed pests in soybeans. This information can then be inputted directly into the online soybean budget tool to complete the enterprise budget for that crop.
Objective 3 - Introduce the tool to farmers and extension professionals. Working versions of the pesticide selection tool will be introduced to farmers through email list serves, extension newsletters, and in-person at winter production meetings. Email and print newsletters will contain descriptions of the function of the new tool, and will invite farmers to use the app on their own. Print materials with information about how to find and use the new tool will be developed to circulate at in-person events. The goal is to provide a simple tool that would require little or no training in order to use. At in-person and virtual winter production meetings, we will provide a demonstration of where to find the tool and how to use it. On the website, we will include a link to a brief survey where users can provide feedback on the utility of the tool, state whether they would use it in the future, and provide feedback on ways to improve it.
Objective 4 - Combine functionality of the pesticide selection tool with the online budget tool. Once the online pesticide selection tool is fully functional, portions of the codes can be included into the script that controls the online soybean crop budget tool, to further improve the functionality of the budget tool. We will identify specific features that would best transfer to the budget tool to enhance its utility and minimize redundancy between programs. Information from the reporting side of the pesticide selection tools will also be included in the crop budget tool, to include more integrated pest management recommendations made to users. By linking the online budget tool to information from research trials, this tool can provide farmers educational content beyond the economic analyses they are performing.