Are you a vegetable farmer in the Upper Midwest?
Learn how to take the guesswork out of assessing risk for vegetable pests and diseases with the Vegetable Disease & Insect Forecasting Network (VDIFN), a tool created by Dr. Amanda Gevens, Dr. Russell Groves, and Ben Bradford. In this tutorial, we break down the science behind pest and pathogen development, showing how temperature and environmental conditions can help predict risk in real time. We walk through step-by-step examples of how to use VDIFN’s free, user-friendly interface to monitor insects and diseases on your farm.
Click here to visit VDIFN and follow along on your computer, tablet, or smartphone.
Looking for more resources?
Pest Research & Resources
Dr. Russell Groves
Professor and Vegetable Extension Specialist
Phone: 608-262-3229
Email: groves@entomology.wisc.edu
Insect Diagnostic Lab
Send images and physical samples to identify insects
Disease Research & Resources
Dr. Amanda Gevens
Professor, Extension Specialist, Associate Chair
Phone:608-890-3072
Email: gevens@wisc.edu
Disease Diagnostics Clinic
Send images and physical samples to diagnose plant diseases
Article: Decision Support Tool Roundup
Want to explore more decision support tools for weather-based risks? Click here to read more in an article from Ben Bradford.
Please contact Ariana Abbrescia, UW-Madison Extension Organic and Sustainable Agriculture Outreach Specialist, with questions.
Acknowledgments: VDIFN has been created and maintained through the collaborative efforts of Dr. Amanda Gevens, Dr. Russell Groves, and Ben Bradford. Their commitment to providing vegetable growers with timely, research-based recommendations and tools has advanced successful integrated pest and disease management across Wisconsin. Additions to the site have come from contributions of programmers, research scientists, and students of the Gevens and Groves research programs since 2014.
Funding for this tool has come from multiple sources including the Wisconsin Potato Industry Association, Midwest Food Products Association, Wisconsin Specialty Crop Block Grant Program, and US Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture Specialty Crop Research Initiative Program.