Agronomy Guide now available for farmers on Web

By ALLISON LIEBSCHER
Collegian Staff Writer

The recent placement of the College of Agricultural Science's Agronomy Guide on the World Wide Web enables farmers from the State College area as well as those around the globe to search for extensive crop information.

The Agronomy Guide is a 251-page publication that contains detailed information on production practices such as pest control and soil-fertility management.

Now in its third week online, the handbook's Web site is averaging 200 hits per week.

"It's a valuable source of information for industry and farmers, and being online gives them rapid, quick access to specific pieces of information in the guide," said O. Elwood Hatley, professor of agronomy.

There is little concern the Web site will replace the hard copy, which will continue to be published every two years. "It's not very convenient carrying laptops in the field," Hatley said.

The Agronomy Guide sells for $9 at either a county office or Penn State.

Larry Pruss, director of the college's Service and Support Units, said he expects the online version of the guide to have a "minimal effect" on sales. It may even increase sales now that the information is accessible worldwide, but the goal "is to get the information out to as many people as possible," not to make money, he added.

Steven Fales, professor and head of the agronomy department, said the advantages of the online site, in addition to there being no cost, include a keyword search feature, the latest information on topics such as pesticides and the links to resources.

In the near future, the site will be more interactive, allowing farmers to view an insect identification guide and to make calculations for crop production and equipment calibration, Fales said.

In addition to The Agronomy Guide Web site (agguide.agronomy.psu.edu), The Pennsylvania Tree Fruit Production Guide Web site is available online (www.cas.psu.edu/docs/CASDEPT/Hort/TFPG/default.html).