Welcome to the twenty-first century, when you can look to your phone for help out in the field.

TCIA's Tchukki Andersen here, and of course, I’m talking about the new IPMPro mobile app, which seeks to “streamline your pest management decision - making employee training, and complying with state pesticide recordkeeping regulations easy!”

In case you’re unfamiliar, an app is a small, specialized program downloaded onto mobile devices. There are approximately 500,000 apps in iTunes, about 450,000 in the Android marketplace, and thousands more being developed as we speak.

This app was built to help green industry professionals access pest reference materials, plus provide personalized pesticide alerts…right from their fingertips.

As a green industry pro and a fairly novice techno-geek, I decided to give it a try.

Zoned for 22 states east of the Mississippi River, this app serves the Gulf Coast and Atlantic Seaboard well. If you’re from the Midwest, New England or the West Coast, then it’s not for you. But if you’re lucky enough to live in one of the 22 selected states, then this app has some dynamic potential for you out in the field.

After a few false starts I finally got the hang of IPMPro. You begin by choosing your location and some personal preferences, then you’re brought to a monthly calendar that provides you with the approximate timing of landscape pest emergences for a particular area. This calendar essentially tells you when to begin monitoring for certain tree pests.

The menu screen features recordkeeping fields, where a qualified applicator would indicate:

• the treatment site
• the date
• the treatment history
• name of target pests
• affected host species
• symptoms of pest damage
• pest lifecycle information
• product name and dose
• reentry intervals
• …and specific management information related to the tree pest in that hardiness zone.

There is a TON of information to wade through and play around with. Also bear in mind that the cost ($24.95) for this app is higher than others you’ll see in the app store. But it’s also much different than other apps (say, Angry Birds); it’s more like business software and is much more complex.

For example, the IPMPro app is designed to send you push notifications when action is needed. Depending on your location, the date, and emerging pests; the app will send you a message (a text like alert) warning you that there is a time-sensitive task you must complete.

Additionally, IPMPro allows electronic recordkeeping of pesticide applications, automatically compiling the records and emailing them to your address.Plus, the app provides sample photos of affected host species. This is a great feature and minimizes time spent searching the internet back in the office.

There is a LOT built into this app. After all, it took the work of a dozen experts from seven universities to build the IPMPro App. But let’s get to the crux of it: If this app were available in my area, would I utilize it?

Yes.

What are you thoughts? Have you tried the IPMPro app? Do you plan to give it a test drive? Let us know!

*App is available in the iTunes App Store and the Android Marketplace.

This post was authored by Tchukki Andersen

A Board Certified Master Arborist and Certified Tree Safety Professional, Tchukki has worked in the field of arboriculture for more than 20 years. She writes technical articles for the TreeWorker, Tree Care Industry Magazine, and compiles best management practices for industry publications. Speaking to homeowners through TreeCareTips.org and the Tchukki Channel video series, she is our resident “tree surgeon general.”