Bayer CropScience has launched three free new smartphone applications (apps) for growers and agronomists at Cereals 2012, two of which are the first of their kind.

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“We know referring to key information about our products is an important requirement for growers and agronomists,” said Lisa Challis, the firm’s website and customer relations manager.

Since the new look Bayer CropScience website was launched in March 2011 there had been nearly 6000 downloads of the product manual from the site, she said.

“The smartphone app is designed to make finding that information even easier, and will always have the most up-to-date information loaded.”

One particularly useful feature is to quickly find what tank-mixes are approved for a product. Users select a core product, and then can find which herbicides, fungicides, insecticides, growth regulators or micronutrients are approved to be tank-mixed with that product.

“Questions about tank-mixes are a very popular topic to our help line, so this will give growers another route to find that information,” Miss Challis said.

The product manual app also links with the product information within the Pest Spotter app, which, along with the Weed Guide app, is also being launched at Cereals 2012. Both these tools have proved very popular with growers and agronomists in both their printed and online versions.

“Bayer has been producing its Weed Guide for over 25 years and it is extremely popular guide. We send out around 1000 printed copies every year, while the grass-weed identification chart on our website has been downloaded over 1200 times since March 2011,” Miss Challis said.

The mobile version of the weed guide has an interactive version of the grass-weed identification tool in the book, while all the images of grass-weeds have been updated. In total, around 100 weeds have been included, including 10 new broad-leaved weeds, each with information on their characteristics and importance.

The Pest Spotter app will help growers and agronomists identify key pests in cereals, oilseed rape, sugar beet, potatoes and vegetables. Information on each pest details identification, the symptoms it causes, its life-cycle, importance and any threshold for treatment.

“Correct identification of any weed or pest is a prerequisite for correct treatment,” said Miss Challis. “Both these apps will help growers with that, plus provide relevant information to help with control.”

All the apps are free to download from either iTunes or the Android app stores. To learn more about the features of each app watch our videos at www.bayercropscience.co.uk/apps

Both the Weed Guide and Pest Spotter books have also been updated and are available by registering for a copy online at www.bayercropscience.co.uk/agriservices