As part of their planned series of new innovations Bayer has launched a dedicated smartphone app for the turf and amenity sector. The Bayer TurfXpert app has been specifically developed with turf professionals in mind and has been designed to help identify turf weeds, diseases and insects whilst in the field. Once identified, advice is given on the best methods of control.

Bayer’s Product Manager, Claire Matthewman explains that this particular application is an evolution of Bayer’s very popular turf weed, pest and disease wall chart.

 “We’ve taken all of the valuable information that our turf wall chart displayed, added in a simple to use weed and disease identifier tool and  turned it into an interactive smartphone application,” says Claire. She added: “We had positive early feedback when we previewed the app to greenkeepers in September at STRI Research event, and so now we’re working on a version for the iPad which we plan to launch at BTME in January next year.  We’re confident there will be good take-up.”

The software allows users to identify a turf disease or weed by describing particular symptoms; it then suggests the best form of treatment as well as advising on ideal cultural practices to help prevent outbreaks in the future.

The app also has a feature whereby a turf manager can take a photograph of disease symptoms or a weed using the camera on their smartphone and send it directly to Bayer for diagnosis. Dorin Pop, Bayer’s Technical Manager will then respond within 48 hours with a diagnosis and recommended course of action.

“Mobile applications allow us to take our customer relations a step further,” adds Claire. “This highly portable, accessible and instantaneous medium means that groundsmen, greenkeepers and turf managers can essentially have a Bayer turf expert ‘in their pocket’ and will find that many technical questions can be answered at the tap of a screen.” She goes on to say that having the ability to contact an expert representative via an app is a feature that few companies in the industry can offer, so really enhances Bayer’s customer support framework.

The Bayer TurfXpert app is now available free of charge from the Apple App store; simply enter ‘Bayer TurfXpert’ into the Search facility. An Android version will soon be available.