RAYMOND, Miss. -- Commercial vegetable growers have a new mobile-based resource to help them manage pests and diseases in their crops.

The MyIPM for Vegetables app is the latest in the MyIPM app series. MyIPM for Vegetables currently offers resources for tomatoes and cucurbits, which includes cucumbers, pumpkins, squash and watermelons.

Rebecca Melanson, plant pathologist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, who served as the principal investigator on the project, said the app makes it easy for growers to access integrated pest management information and make informed pest management decisions in a timely manner.

“Unlike traditional publications, which often have long production times, existing app content can be updated, and new content can be added and made available to users at any time throughout the year,” said Melanson, who is also an associate professor in the Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Entomology and Plant Pathology.

Growers can find photos and descriptions of diseases and insects along with information on chemical, biological and cultural management methods.

The app includes tables of labeled fungicides and insecticides with active ingredients, product names, efficacy, application rates, preharvest intervals, restricted-entry intervals and codes established by the Fungicide Resistance Action Committee, or FRAC, and the Insecticide Resistance Action Committee, or IRAC, for each disease and insect when chemical management is a practical management tool.

FRAC and IRAC codes help growers choose the best products to manage diseases and insects and help to prevent the development of resistance.

The app is free and available for download to any Apple or Android device.

Collaborators plan to include additional disease and insect profiles for tomatoes and cucurbits, along with other crops, in the future.

The MyIPM app series also features resources for row crops, fruits and nuts and important crops in Hawaii. For more information about the MyIPM app series, visit https://myipm.app.

A Southern IPM Grant through the Southern IPM Center funded the work to support app content and database development by members of the Southeastern Vegetable Extension Workers Group, or SEVEW.

Lead grant collaborators were Thomas Kuhar, Department of Entomology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University; Tom Bilbo, Coastal Research and Education Center, Clemson University; and Inga Meadows, Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, North Carolina State University. Several others from universities within the Southeast also contributed.

The SEVEW collaborators are also responsible for the Southeastern U.S. Vegetable Crop Handbook.