Those that aren't growers may find the phrase "growing degree day" perplexing. Is there a holiday? Is it a specific type of weather? If you're a grower, you'll recognize it as neither: it's an index.
Before you plant any crops or start counting down the days to harvest using the Davis Mobilize app, it's critical to understand growing degree days.
What exactly are Growing Degree Days?
Plants, like insects, develop in phases, such as germination and flowering. The progression of a plant through various stages can be accurately observed by recording average air temperatures over the course of its life. Barring drought or illness, the plant will go to the next developmental stage once a specified amount of heat has accumulated.
The Growing Degree Day (GDD) index measures how much heat a plant has absorbed beyond its minimum growth temperature (some plants have an upper threshold as well). Some cool-season plants, such as peas and alfalfa, do not require much heat accumulation, whereas others, such as maize, require a complete summer of bright sunlight.
GDDs basically tell you how old your crops are developmentally and how far they are from harvest-ready.
Why is it important to calculate growing degree days?
As a grower, you must be well-versed in the GDD for your individual crops. First and foremost, you must arrange a harvest, which is entirely dependent on the plant's readiness.
Furthermore, knowing where your crops are in their development might help you estimate when particular insects or diseases may appear. With correct GDD estimates, you may treat your crops more proactively with fertilizer, pesticide, and other chemicals to provide the best possible return.
Farmers in previous generations calculated these developmental stages by keeping track of the calendar, consulting the almanac, and keeping year-to-year records. Crop failures were common for those hardworking growers due to fluctuations in conditions that they couldn't measure.
Today's technology enables growers to quantify GDD with scientific precision, thereby protecting harvests and removing the uncertainty from farming.
Davis's Advantage
Davis Instruments takes pleasure in assisting growers in achieving a successful and dependable harvest. All you need is a Davis weather station, a WeatherLink account, and your smartphone's Mobilize app.
Mobilize provides you and your team members with a genuinely actionable GDD report right on your smartphone, available on-demand 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
How to Use the Mobilize App to Increase Your Harvest
Setting up your crop with the app is simple. You choose the planting date, crop type, baseline threshold, and goal GDD.
Once configured, you may check the percentage of progress toward the target as well as the current GDD of your crops on your smartphone screen. The objective, plant date, GDD for the last 7 days, and expected GDD for the next 7 days are all displayed.
Mobilize provides far more than GDD reports. You'll also obtain decision-making data and reports on pest management, irrigation, chilling hours, frost, and weather for each of your fields by integrating your own localized weather data from your own Davis weather station with the Mobilize app.
Get the Weather Information You Need to Grow
Download our Davis Agricultural Weather Solution Buying Guide to discover more about how you may use monitoring technology to safeguard crops and maximize yields. This resource will teach you how to construct an ideal agricultural monitoring system that will compute Growing Degree Days, monitor soil moisture, and more.
Reference:
https://www.davisinstruments.com/blogs/newsletter/mobilize-puts-custom-growing-degree-day-reports-in-the-palm-of-your-hand