NDSU Ready to Launch Pest Management Tool to North Dakota Farmers
The upcoming NDSU Pest Management Tool has been designed as a hub for pest management knowledge, which can help agriculturists easily access information wherever and whenever they need it.
This wasn’t the first app built for this purpose. The previous app was launched in 2013. Two years ago, the app was dissolved due to the high cost to maintain, and a more sustainable plan was put into action with NDSU Agricultural Data Analytics.
NDSU Extension produces three guides each year for fungicides, insecticides and herbicides. They are some of the most requested Extension publications, with thousands printed each year.
Andrew Friskop, plant pathologist in NDSU’s Department of Plant Pathology, Microbiology and Biotechnology, has been working on making this tool an information source for anything related to pesticide use. His goal was to consolidate all three guides into a usable database that agriculturists can use.
“One of the biggest challenges in Extension is making information that can be received by all ages,” says Friskop. “We do a great job at reaching our experienced agriculturalists. Some of the new generation of future agriculture leaders has been working with those growers to determine how to best provide information in a one-stop shop at their fingertips.”
The tool has taken about two years to create, and it required collaboration from NDSU Extension experts in entomology, plant sciences and plant pathology to help re-enter all the available data about
pest management.
None of the previous app language was usable, so Vimlesh Kumar, NDSU Extension application development and analytics engineer, developed the app from scratch.
“The previous version was very basic, and it wasn’t fully integrated with the data from the guides,” says Kumar.
The new app follows a progressive web app format, meaning it is easily added to a device and doesn’t require costly updates. Also new to the tool is an extensive gallery of crop photos to accompany the information, which Kumar says is a crucial part of the app’s usability.
“I think the most important thing for users is the visual and usability of the tool,” says Kumar.
Users can select the crops and pests, and the tool will provide effectiveness and use information. The app provides detailed product information, application methods and up-to-the-minute environmental conditions such as temperature and humidity. The app can be used without an internet connection on a smartphone, as well as in a desktop format.
Friskop says that, at the end of the day, he and the collaborators on this tool just want to make the day easier for growers and to guide decision-making wherever they need it most.
Printed copies of the pest management guides will continue to be available at Extension county offices.
The tool is set to launch in late spring 2026, and Friskop is excited to showcase the team’s hard work, as well as hearing what growers have to say about their app experiences.
“We really look forward to getting feedback on everything included, whether it’s accessibility to additional tools that would be helpful to add,” says Friskop.
This management tool has been financially supported by commodity groups.
