Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
It is expected that this further supports the decision and management
processes of the farmer.
In a summary it can be concluded that pest forecast systems need plausible
and complete meteorological data as main input. In Germany meteorological
data are mainly provided by the German meteorological service. Additionally
several German states built up their own meteorological networks.
However by using meteorological data of MSs a good prognosis is only
reached in the scope of a MS. That is the reason why the ZEPP developed a
new technology based on GIS. With the help of GIS it is possible to obtain
results with higher accuracy for disease and pest simulation models.
The influence of geographical factors on temperature and relative humidi-
ty were interpolated with GIS methods getting meteorological data for every
km
2
in Germany. The parameter precipitation was taken by radar measured
precipitation data and the results of all measured meteorological data were
used as input for the simulation models.
The output of these models is presented as spatial risk maps in which
areas of maximum risk of the disease outbreak, infection pressure or pest
appearances are displayed.
The modern presentation methods of GIS lead to an easy interpretation
and will furthermore promote the use of the system by farmers.
C
ONCLUSION
The two examples mentioned above show that the use of GIS can support
crop protection measures in different ways and make them more sustainable.
GIS helps in planning pesticide applications, answering the question if
pesticide spraying in a specific location is appropriate at all, because the
weather conditions have been favorable for a certain plant disease or pest.
Thus the pesticide application can be optimized under economic and ecologic
aspects. GIS helps as well in the actual spraying process by assuring that zones
like water bodies that deserve protection are automatically taken into account.
GIS-created application maps automate the spraying process.
When a protected zone is entered the sprayer automatically stops the
pesticide application. Water bodies or hedges are not contaminated with
chemicals.
