Whether they are looking to cut down on water usage or make sure they're planting in season, consumers can now utilize their mobile devices in the garden with new apps developed by the University of Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences.
According to a press release from the university, UF/IFAS’ so-called “smart irrigation apps” include an urban lawn app that estimates how long gardeners will need to water their lawns to meet current plant water demand. The app uses a simplified approach for automated irrigation systems. This urban lawn model uses meteorological data to compute a simple, real-time weekly water balance, said Kati Migliaccio, UF/IFAS associate professor in agricultural and biological engineering and lead designer of the app. Consumers can find these and other apps at Smartirrigationapps.org.
“The turf app provides a free resource to determine a schedule to apply the right amount of water to landscapes, which is personalized based on user inputs,” Migliaccio said.
Other faculty involved in the UF/IFAS smart irrigation apps are Clyde Fraisse, associate professor in agricultural and biological engineering; Kelly Morgan, associate professor in soil and water science at the Southwest Florida Research and Education Center, and George Vellidis, professor in crop and soil sciences at the University of Georgia.
UF/IFAS has developed several other consumer-friendly apps:
• An app for Florida gardeners lets them plug in their zip code to get specific gardening-zone recommendations for temperature tolerance and watering requirements. Esen Momol, director of the Florida-Friendly Landscaping Program at UF/IFAS, and Gail Hansen, associate professor in environmental horticulture who’s also affiliated with the UF/IFAS Center for Landscape Ecology and Conservation, designed this app, which came out in the summer of 2014. It features more than 400 Florida-Friendly plants that can be selected by their type, shape and sun tolerance. Each plant is accompanied by a color photo.
Momol and Hansen got help in designing this app from UF/IFAS Extension horticultural sciences experts. The mobile app costs $1.99 a year and is available at ffl.ifas.ufl.edu/plants.
• Garden center customers curious about the trees native to Florida can check out “Trees: North & Central Florida, a Field Guide to 140 Tree Species," a new book available at the UF/IFAS Extension Bookstore. UF/IFAS created an app to accompany this book. Master gardeners, educators and those interested in identifying the trees of north and Central Florida may find use for this app, which is available at the Apple App Store on iPhone and iPad.
Andrew Koeser, assistant professor in environmental horticulture at the UF/IFAS Gulf Coast Research and Education Center in Balm, who’s also affiliated with the Center for Landscape Ecology and Conservation, led the app’s development.
Growers are also using apps, including those designed for more effective irrigation of citrus, avocados, strawberries and vegetables.
In addition, UF/IFAS experts have developed apps called Gardening Solutions; Florida Seafood at Your Fingertips; iPest 1, 2 and 3; and IveGot1, which are used to report invasive plants and animals.