Crowd-Sourced Prediction of Plant Pest and Disease Occurrence using Mobile Apps

Growing Interactive produces the leading online software and apps that gardeners and small-scale farms use to plan the edible crops they grow and achieve increased levels of success. Over ¼ million gardeners and farmers have used our software and apps. We hold a wealth of location-based information on which crops, varieties and quantities gardeners are growing in their location and we are extending the recording to include dated observations of pests and diseases on crops.
This project will statistically analyse the crowd-sourced pest and disease observations recorded in our apps in conjunction with meteorological information to develop much more accurate predictive systems along with innovative visualisations to help predict pest and disease emergence on crops. Meteorological information and weather forecasts can then be used to provide significantly improved pest prediction for growers for the current growing season specific to their location. These will form the basis of new services for our customers, the horticultural industry and agriculture, helping growers to reduce losses due to plant pests and diseases.