17 June 2011

A new app that helps arable farmers check the compatibility of fertilizer and crop protection sprays is being launched by Yara at Cereals Event 2011

The Yara Tankmix Applet, which can be used on 180 million apple devices worldwide, provides information on the physical mixability of the YaraVita foliar range with the many crop protection products available in the marketplace, including herbicides, fungicides and insecticides.

Andrew Sefton, Yara Services Manager, explains “In the current environment, risk management is vital and farmers must ensure they have resilient fertilizer and crop protection programmes in place.  Not enough concern is given to the affect of poor tank mixes and the Yara Tankmix app provides an ideal solution for farmers who do not want to take unnecessary risks by attempting to blend and spray an incompatible mix.  

“Growers simply want to know ‘Will this mixture spray without blocking my sprayer nozzles?’ Tankmix can answer this question rapidly and accurately and is therefore a very useful farm management tool. It takes into account the many variables of mixing different products together, such as application and water rates. The Tankmix database contains thousands of different Tankmix tests.”

The Tankmix App connects directly to Yara’s data server and quickly downloads the most up to date trials information and as Mr Sefton explains, is very easy to use, “you can search using a YaraVita product name, crop protection product name or by active ingredient and the search will bring up all variations of mixes containing these products. If a mixability test has not yet been performed, there is the option to request the test be carried out, which in most cases can be completed by the Yara product development laboratory within a few hours.”

The launch of the App is very timely as market and weather conditions continue to challenge growers across the UK, whose focus is on improving productivity and crop quality. “Arable farmers have very little spare time in which to conduct this kind of test themselves. Working alongside YaraVita’s extensive range of foliar products the Tankmix app offers growers reliable advice and peace of mind.”

The Tankmix App is available to download free of charge and operates in English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish and Swedish with more languages to follow.  Currently only available for Apple iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch, an Android version will follow in the coming months, plus an upgraded www.tankmix.com website designed and formatted to operate easily with all mobile devices such as the Blackberry.

For further information please contact andrew.sefton@yara.com or visit www.tankmix.com