PlantwisePlus Blog

CABI’s range of agricultural mobile apps provides a way for smallholders to access up-to-date, real-time information, either first-hand or through advisory services.

Smallholder farmers across the world need access to agricultural advice so their crops are less susceptible to pests and diseases. Extension and advisory service workers are important for communicating science-based solutions with communities, providing essential information. Their advice on crop health, including pest and disease diagnosis, helps farmers to lose less of what they grow, stimulating agricultural production.

Digital development, such as agricultural mobile apps, can help advisory service workers provide the best possible advice to farmers by giving them access to current, relevant information. Through the PlantwisePlus programme, CABI is developing a Toolkit of digital decision support tools aimed at agricultural extension workers, agro-input dealers and farmers.

Discover the CABI PlantwisePlus agricultural mobile apps currently available free to download from Google Play Store App.

Plantwise Factsheets Library

The Plantwise Factsheets Library allows users to download factsheets for their country and use them anytime, on or offline.

Plantwise Factsheets are written by partners in Plantwise countries, specifically on major pest and disease problems faced by farmers in their fields. They give a quick outline of how to recognize a crop problem, a little background information about the problem, and step-by-step instructions on how to manage the problem based on integrated pest management (IPM) approaches. Every factsheet is supported by photographs to help correct identification of the cause and show key symptoms of the problems.

The Plantwise Factsheet Library app enables plant doctors, extension workers and progressive farmers to have free access to the full range of the most up-to-date, relevant content with the safest advice, on their mobile devices.

Download from Google Play Store

Pest Diagnostic Simulator App

The Pest Diagnostic Simulator app is an android based game that allows users to test their plant pest and disease investigation and diagnosis skills through multiple scenarios.

The app supports and reinforces investigation and diagnosis skills through engaging gameplay and real-time feedback. This learning game improves accuracy and quality in observing plant symptoms, inspection and deductive reasoning skills and enhances knowledge, confidence and competence in diagnosing pest and disease problems. The app uses unique 3D simulated scenarios to train plant health professionals in diagnosing common plant health problems.

The Pest Diagnostic Simulator app complements the CABI Academy Crop Pest Diagnosis course.

Download from Google Play Store

Crop Management Simulator App

The Crop Management Simulator is an android based simulation game that helps users to experience different challenges faced by the farmers in the field and strengthen their decision-making skills to provide better advice based on the different integrated pest management approaches.

In this game, the user plays the role of a farm advisor to develop a strategy to prevent pests and diseases from destroying a farmer’s crops under multiple scenarios from cropping patterns to climate effects. Players choose the best control methods to defeat a range of crop health problems caused by insects, mites, fungi, viruses, or bacteria in an economical way.

Behind the fun is an accurate simulation of the characteristics of hundreds of pests and diseases on many globally important crops.

The Crop Management Simulator App complements the CABI Academy Crop Pest Management course.

Download from Google Play Store

Crop Sprayer

The Crop Sprayer app helps users to make the calculations required to ensure apply pesticides as intended. The app calculates the amount of pesticide concentrate to use, the total amount of pesticide required, the number of tanks required to spray an area and the adjustment of calculations for a different size sprayer. Once downloaded, the app works offline, so it can be used in the field without the need to use data.

Download from Google Play Store

Fertilizer Optimizer

The Fertilizer Optimizer app helps users to apply fertilizer more efficiently to optimize their fertilizer investments. The app asks for information on crops grown, the area planted, expected crop sale prices, fertilizers costs and the budget available to invest in fertilizer products. Based on robust crop response functions, it will calculate the most profitable combination of fertilizers to purchase and advise users on crop and site-specific application rates. The app can also take into account any integrated soil fertility management (ISFM) practices to tailor the fertilizer recommendation to the user’s farm.

CABI has created the Fertilizer Optimizer app so that extension workers and farmers can have free access to fertilizer advice, on mobile devices. The app runs offline allowing users to perform optimization calculations in the field. The Fertilizer Optimizer has been produced for: Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia and is available to use in English, French and Portuguese.

Download from the Google Play Store

Crop App Index: An easier way to find plant health digital tools