ST. PAUL, Minn. (June 2014)—APS proudly announces the launch of “Plant Health,” the portal to APS’s new app collection, available for download by those with iPhone and iPad (iOS) devices.
Plant Health’s inaugural apps include Turf MD, Tomato MD, and a free demo app that allows users to try these new resources before buying them for a low fee of $2.99 and $1.99 respectively.
The apps were developed to help hobbyists and professionals alike identify and manage diseases, particularly those that affect tomatoes and turfgrasses.
Turf MD
Turf MD offers diagnostic and decision support tools designed for turf professionals, including golf course superintendents, sports turf managers, park and landscape managers, turfgrass producers, and anyone responsible for turfgrass health.
What sets Turf MD apart from other apps is its high-quality information. It is peer-reviewed by Ph.D.-level university experts on turfgrass diseases and management, so users can trust the app’s management recommendations, images, decision support tools, and other important information.
The app is laid out in a non-technical format and includes a photo gallery, identification tools, decision support tools, an index of turfgrass diseases, and recommendations to help users identify and treat diseases. Specific features include:
- Scientifically peer-reviewed disease images
- Decision support tools, including diagnostic keys that help users to identify diseases based on turfgrass variety, temperature, and physical symptoms
- General guidelines and steps for disease identification
- Control strategies for the management of turfgrass diseases
- A directory of state turf extension resources for more information and to connect with local university specialists
- Fully downloadable content. No internet or cellular connection is needed to operate the app once it is fully downloaded
Turf MD’s content is based on three APS PRESS Books: Compendium of Turfgrass Diseases, Third Edition, edited by Richard W. Smiley, Peter H. Dernoeden, and Bruce B. Clarke; A Practical Guide to Turfgrass Fungicides, by Richard Latin; and additional images and keys found in the Turfgrass Diseases, Diagnosis and Management CD-Rom, developed by Gail L. Schumann and James D. MacDonald.
Tomato MD
Tomato MD is an interactive reference that helps gardeners, professional growers, and consultants identify and manage more than 35 key diseases, insects, and physiological disorders of tomatoes.
This app is unique in that tomato experts have peer-reviewed all content to ensure the images and information are accurate. And while the information was reviewed by scientists, it is very accessible, published in an easy-to-use, non-scientific format.
Specific features of the Tomato MD app include:
- An index of more than 35 common diseases, insects, and mites that affect tomato plants. Once the disease or pest is isolated, users can learn more about causes and sources, symptoms, management strategies, other plants that may serve as host to the pest, and more useful information
- A peer-reviewed photo gallery of insects and mites and the specific damage they cause
- A diagnostic key of tomato diseases based on physical symptoms and the location of infection, including the leaves, stem, fruit, and whole plant
- A tutorial on packing diagnostic samples for the identification of diseases, insect and mite pests, and other disorders
- An updated list of U.S. diagnostic labs where samples can be sent
- Fully downloadable content. Once content is downloaded, no internet or cellular connection is needed
Tomato MD was authored and peer-reviewed by members of the American Phytopathological Society, a nonprofit scientific organization dedicated to plant health. Among the contributors were members Margaret McGrath, Gail Ruhl, Michelle Grabowski, Daniel Gilrein, Robert Wick, and Margery Daughtrey.
Tomato MD is based in part on two APS PRESS Books: Tomato Health Management, Edited by R. Michael Davis, Ken Pernezny, and Janet C. Broome; and the Compendium of Tomato Diseases and Pests, Second Edition, Edited by Jeffrey B. Jones, Thomas A. Zitter, M. Timur Momol, and Sally A. Miller.
Users can download Turf MD for 2.99, Tomato MD for 1.99, or the free demo via the ‘Plant Health’ app, or find it by searching for “Turf MD,” “Tomato MD” or “Plant Health” in their iPhone or iPad’s App Store.
Note: Turf MD and Tomato MD in app purchases are 125+MB and may take a few minutes to download. Once downloaded, you can use these apps freely without an internet connection.
