Field Scouting
Plant Health
- Disease identification.
- Cultural problems.
- Best thinning/topping practices.
- Irrigation related issues.
- Environmental stress.
Fertility
- Soil & Tissue nutritional analysis and interpretation.
- Guidance on achieving nutritional goals in achieving ideal elemental composition ratios and threshold values.
Pest Scouting / IPM
- Pest identification.
- Pest population considerations.
- Pest scouting for population density and spread
- Mapping pest location areas to aid in targeted response.
General Documentation
- Photographic documentation in relation to all disclosed field scouting events and identified areas of concern.
Data Collection
General Documentation
- Plant vigor.
- Plant health.
- Root health.
- Growth rates.
- Varietal growth traits.
- Zoned plant performance.
Data Collection Structuring
Research Trial Design & Layout
- Examples of trial types:
- Randomized plot design.
- Fertility trials.
- Varietal evaluation trials.
- Soil amendment trials.
- Trial Set up includes:
- Treatment identifications.
- Harvest considerations.
- Plant layout or mapping.
- Data collection requirements.
- Estimates towards time commitments necessary to complete identified tasks (daily, weekly, and seasonally).
- Plant Trait Identification
- Identifying specific traits for production considerations.
- Phenotypic variation and varietal comparisons.
- Time Considerations
- Task identification.
- Predicting labor costs and time commitments.