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An enhanced version of Adama’s popular WaterAware app has been developed and is ready to launch for Autumn 2016. With 42 percent of the 486 drinking water protected areas in England at risk, the enhanced WaterAware application is essential in the coming months.

The original WaterAware app was designed to help farmers, agronomists and sprayer operators prevent key active ingredients from entering and polluting raw water supplies and to avoid further regulatory restrictions. Having taken feedback from users, the new phase of the app, which is launching in July 2016, makes the existing functions easier to navigate, allowing users to save and store data according to either the products being used, or the fields being risk assessed.

The latest phase also incorporates Adama’s new ‘#SlugAware’ feature which enables users to assess the risk of slug and snail activity on a field-by-field basis.

The WaterAware app spatially assimilates soil type and soil moisture deficit information along with forecasted weather conditions and uses a traffic light system to advise farmers and sprayer operators when it is safe or unsafe to make chemical or pellet applications.

“The original WaterAware app has been a huge success and has proved to be an effective and reliable way for growers to identify the potential risk of active ingredients being washed into watercourses,” explains Ali Bosher, Marketing Director at Adama.

“Our ongoing commitment to promoting the responsible use of agrochemicals meant we were keen to develop an updated version of the app with additional functions such as #SlugAware.”

#SlugAware is designed to protect the longevity of metaldehyde-based slug pellets such as Gusto 3 by ensuring that pellets are only applied when absolutely necessary. By considering factors such as soil type, humidity, soil moisture, temperature, cultivation method, wind and current and previous crops, #SlugAware gives growers a low, medium or high threat of slug activity warning based on their land’s specific conditions in a given 24 to 72 hour period.

“Whether it is metaldehyde from slug pellets or key weed control active ingredients such as metazachlor, more needs to be done to prevent these and other agrochemicals from entering fresh water supplies,” Ali continues.

“UK agriculture has already lost more than 70% of the active substances at its disposal since the early 1990s. Put simply, if we as an industry don’t do more to protect our natural water resources, regulatory pressures will result in farmers facing a future with even fewer active ingredients and significantly restricted weed and pest control options.

“The improvements to WaterAware and the introduction of #SlugAware are aimed at giving growers better advice and helping them to make more informed crop protection decisions by ensuring key active ingredients are only ever applied at the right time.”

The upgraded WaterAware app (which now includes the #SlugAware feature as standard) is FREE to download from Google Play for Android devices or the Apple Store for Apple devices.

BASIS and NRoSO points available for using the app.

For more information about WaterAware contact ukenquiries@adama.com or visit www.adama.com/uk/en/

CropTec 2016 proudly sponsored by Adama

Want to find out more information on the WaterAware app and other products and services from Adama? Make sure to visit their stand at CropTec 2016, 29 & 30th November, East of England Showground, Peterborough.

“We are proud to be associated with such a focused, professional and well-targeted event,” explained Ali Bosher, Marketing Director for Adama.

“With a breadth of industry-leading speakers covering a wide range of technical, practical and business issues, and an extensive seminar programme which provides various solutions to help increase yields and reduce costs of production, CropTec provides the perfect opportunity for farmers, agronomists and professional spray operators to learn more about the very latest developments in crop establishment, protection, nutrition, and yield enhancement.

“We look forward to another successful show in 2016 and are proud to be able to support such an influential event into 2017.”

Book tickets

A new APP to help farmers and advisers prevent key pesticides entering raw water supplies – and avoid further restrictions being placed on products – is being launched by Adama.

As part of Adama’s WaterAware initiative, the WaterAware APP spatially assimilates soil type and the associated soil moisture deficit information along with forecast weather, to provide farmers with a simple yes/no guide with regard to the timing of spray and pellet applications and the potential risk to surface water.

“WaterAware helps farmers to identify the potential risk from applying a product on a particular day, given their on farm conditions, in order to minimize the risk of pesticides entering surface water supplies,” says Dr Paul Fogg, Senior Crop Team Leader at Adama.

Water Aware

Following the launch of WaterAware in 2014, this new APP is a further indication of Adama’s commitment to promoting the responsible use of current chemistry which is under increasing pressure, not least from issues surrounding the levels of pesticide in raw drinking water supplies and the need for the UK to comply with Drinking Water Directive (DWD) and Water Framework Directive (WFD) objectives.

“UK agriculture has lost over 70% of the active substances at its disposal since the early 1990s,” says Ali Bosher, Marketing Manager at Adama, “and this, combined with the increasing technical challenges posed by resistance, increased EU legislation and the lack of new modes of action means that we need to do all that we can to protect the remaining actives at our disposal.”

Jacky Atkinson from the Drinking Water Inspectorate notes that efforts to date, whilst achieving some success, still need to be improved upon: “A raft of measures have been put in place and have demonstrated some really promising results in some areas. However, for metaldehyde specifically, the next two year period is critical and by 2018 companies must assess whether they need to do something more robust over and above existing guidelines.”

Based on best practice

“It is clear that efforts to date have been insufficient to mitigate many of the non-target, water related impacts,” confirms Dr Fogg of Adama. “The increasing trend of raw water exceedances for oilseed rape herbicides such as metazachlor, carbetamide, propyzamide and quinmerac – along with the slug control metaldehyde – need to be reversed. At present around 40% of the 485 surface water drinking water protected areas in England and Wales are at risk of failing to meet WFD objectives.”

In developing ‘WaterAware’ Adama hope to help avoid the need for additional regulatory measures. “We felt that an APP based on field-based risk assessment would complement other approaches whilst being an effective measure based on best practice.”

CropTec 2015:

Adama are headline sponsors of this year’s event and the WaterAware app will be demonstrated on stand and discussed in our new Spraying Technology Hub, view our full exhibitor list here.

To encourage knowledge exchange among the British farming community further, this year’s event is FREE for farmers to attend. You MUST pre-register online to ensure you receive your free place.

General pre-registered admission: £12, all visitors will charged £15 on the gate on the day of the event.

Twitter: @croptecshow

Facebook: /croptecshow

WaterAware App

· GPS located to allow specific field reviews

· Automatic soil classification utilising British Geological survey MySoil-UKSO Platforms

· Met office weather data allowing a view of spraying potential “today” and in 72 hours

· Use of Soil Moisture deficit MORECS

· Pesticides identified by VI and Water Authorities

· Calibrated for use with OSR, Winter Wheat and Grassland

To download the “WaterAware” App FREE go to the APP Store (google play for android available from 1st August) or for more information about “WaterAware” contactukenquireries@adama.com or visit adama.com/uk/en

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