Field Diary from Finland: Monitoring Wheat Health at 30°C

Heatwaves and Sunshades

“Working days pass quickly in these beautiful field landscapes. On one of our sampling days, temperatures climbed above 30°C, but fortunately, a sunshade set up in the field provided some welcome relief. So far, we have been lucky with the weather, with no rainy field days.”

Crucial Days for Grain Development

Timing is everything in agricultural research. Monica and Maria have already completed three full field sampling rounds, capturing the crops at their most critical biological stage:

“Based on our observations, all winter wheat varieties in the study area are developing well and are generally in good condition. During our most recent visit, the crops had reached BBCH 65, the full flowering stage. At this stage, flowering, pollination and fertilisation are at their peak, making it a critical period for grain development.”

Feeding the PestSpace Database

The main goal of these intensive days in the field is to capture early signs of plant diseases. By collecting these samples, the team is helping train the machine-learning models that will power the future PestSpace Alert System.

What is the situation on the ground right now?

“We have collected samples of a few fungal diseases, but overall, the crops have remained healthy. The most observed diseases so far have been Septoria leaf blotch and Stagonospora blotch. Our fieldwork continues as we now look forward to monitoring grain development and the grain filling stage in the coming weeks.”

Great job, Monica and Maria! Thank you for your hard work and for sharing this wonderful glimpse into your daily fieldwork. 🤗

Step by step, every single day brings us closer to a smarter, tech-driven protection system for farmers across the Baltic Sea Region!

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