These are the benefits of using digital forms and no-code apps in seed testing, seed trials and agricultural field trials based on evidence and use cases.
We know agriculture is using digital forms and no-code apps as well as digital transformation as they are crucial for managing and streamlining farm trials and seed testing. For farmers, conducting trials is key to checking crop health, maximising yields and research driven improvements in farming practices – we know the benefits of using digital transformation in agriculture are massive. But if you’re reading this, you also know these trials generate loads of data, often recorded manually, which leads to errors, delays and data retrieval headaches. That’s where digital forms and no-code white label app builders, like ours at forms2, can transform your trial workflow and get you real-time data capture and analysis.
Let’s hit the benefits of using no-code apps and digital forms for seed trials first and then see how no-code apps in seed testing can be used.
Benefits of Digital Forms for Seed Trials
- More Accurate and Faster Data Capture: Digital forms eliminate the transcription errors that come with paper based data entry. Seed testing and farm trials involve repetitive measurements and observations like stand counts, canopy cover and plant stress indicators. A no-code app lets you enter data in the field, reducing errors and getting data faster.
- Real-time Data Collection and Analysis: Farm trials need real-time data to check for plant stress, water usage and disease presence. Digital farm trial apps support live data monitoring so researchers and agronomists can collect data and make decisions in real-time. For example, if a trial detects early signs of plant stress, action can be taken immediately and that means better yields and quality.
- Collaboration and Accessibility: With digital platforms field teams, researchers and stakeholders have access to data in real-time so collaboration is seamless. Whether working across different fields or countries users can sync data, access insights and adjust protocols in real-time. That means faster decision making for global seed trials and multi-location studies.
- Customisable and Scalable No-Code apps: forms2’s no-code platform lets you customise forms to your trial requirements, from micro-plot analysis to full field assessments. That’s perfect for agricultural organisations that run multiple trials with different data requirements. And no-code apps are scalable, so as your trial grows the app can too without having to rebuild.
- Cost and Environmental Impact Digital forms eliminate the need for paper so you can be more sustainable. This paperless approach saves physical resources and costs associated with manual data entry, printing and data storage and supports environmentally friendly practices.
Digital Forms
In the era of smart farming and precision agriculture digital forms have become an essential part of modern farming. These electronic versions of traditional paper based forms can be filled out and submitted online, offering many benefits that are transforming industries across the board, including agriculture. By using digital forms farmers and researchers can be more efficient, better manage data and provide a user friendly experience, all of which are key to successful field trials and other farming activities.
Use Cases for Precision Farming Field Trials Apps
Digital forms and no-code apps can support many use cases for field trials, each for a specific research purpose. Agricultural drones are key to modern field trials by providing an overview of the agricultural area and gathering data on environmental conditions. Communication technologies are also essential for data collection and real-time monitoring to increase efficiency and productivity of farming practices.
1. Stand Count Analysis
How It Works:
In traditional field trials stand counts (measuring crop density by counting plants in a plot) are done manually, often requiring multiple visits to the field and manual counting which is time consuming and error prone. A digital form on a no-code app simplifies this process by letting you enter stand counts quickly or capture images for automated analysis.
Example: A researcher visits each micro-plot and enters the stand count in a pre-built digital form on a no-code app by forms2. The form has dropdowns for plot ID, plant variety and growth stage so data entry is quick. Or they can take photos of the plots and the app will analyse the stand density and count the plants automatically through AI image recognition. The data is uploaded to a central dashboard in real-time so the research team can see the counts as they happen.
2. Canopy Cover Measurement
How It Works:
Canopy cover is used to measure plant health and growth uniformity across plots. Measuring it manually is a visual estimate but a digital app can be more accurate by allowing you to capture canopy images and overlay a grid to measure the coverage.
Example:
In a forms2 no-code app for seed trial researchers can snap a photo of the canopy cover directly in the app’s digital form for agricultural field trials and the form can connect with what3words and automatically tag it with the GPS location and plot ID. The app has a feature that overlays a grid onto the photo so you can measure the canopy coverage percentage using advanced logic. The images and measurements are saved instantly and linked to other trial data for a complete view of plant health. And by logging each visit in the app you can track canopy changes over time to see plant growth trends.
3. Plant Stress, Vigor, and Crop Quality Detection
How It Works:
Detecting plant stress involves monitoring various health indicators such as leaf colour, shape and overall growth. With a no-code app researchers can record these indicators systematically and quantify stress levels more accurately.
Example:
A forms2 digital form for plant stress detection can make drop-down fields for stress types (e.g. wilting, discolouration) and severity levels. The app also has a checklist of symptoms and allows researchers to upload photos of specific plants showing stress. The app can also guide researchers to collect additional environmental data like soil moisture levels or nearby weed presence to get a full picture of what’s impacting plant health. The data from each plot is available to team members instantly for decision making, and optimising agricultural production processes through enhanced monitoring and analysis.
4. Weed Detection Using Agricultural Drones
How It Works:
Weeds can have a big impact on crop health and yield and monitoring their presence across field trials is critical. With a digital form weed detection data is entered quickly, cataloged accurately and viewed in real time to track infestations across different plots.
Example:
In the weed detection form in the forms2 app a researcher can mark the plot number, type of weed found (from a preloaded list) and density level (sparse, moderate, heavy). They can upload a photo to the app as proof which helps later in comparing the effectiveness of different weed control methods. As weeds are catalogued the app will display a colour coded map showing infestation severity across all trial plots. This allows agronomists to allocate resources effectively and target areas with higher weed density for immediate action, a smart farm in action.
5. Digital forms for Water Usage Tracking
How It Works:
Monitoring water usage is critical especially in water sensitive trials where irrigation levels impact growth and yield. A digital form allows trial managers to log water inputs by plot, frequency and amount to get real time water consumption.
Example:
In a forms2 app or digital form for water usage tracking, which uses no code tools, field workers can input data such as water amount, irrigation method and application frequency which can also improve soil quality. Each entry is timestamped and the form has a section to record weather conditions such as rainfall that might impact water needs. The app aggregates this data across plots and can generate daily or weekly water usage reports. Researchers use these insights to see which irrigation practices are most efficient and compare water consumption with crop health metrics like canopy cover and vigor. This is one of the benefits of using digital forms and no-code apps for vineyard management too.
Case Study: International Seed Manufacturing Company and Smart Farming Solutions
For example in their Plant Stress and Vigor Detection trial International Seed Manufacturing Company used the forms2 app building platform to create an agricultural field trials app to track health indicators with precision. The app allowed real time upload of photos and data from thousands of micro-plots so the team could respond faster to emerging plant stress issues. By combining this data with environmental data recorded in the same app the company got detailed insights to optimise their crop health protocols and saw a big increase in yield.
Benefits of Digital Forms
Digital forms have changed the way data is collected and processed in agriculture. Here are just SOME of the benefits of digital forms that make them a must have for modern farming.
More Efficient
One of the biggest advantages of digital forms in Agriculture especially is automation of data collection. This reduces manual data entry and minimises errors and saves time. Farmers and researchers can fill out forms on their mobile or desktop devices, whether in the field or office. This means agricultural professionals can focus on more important tasks, data analysis and decision making to optimise crop quality and yield.
Better Data Management
Digital forms provides a single platform for data collection and management which is key to precision farming. They allow users to collect, store and analyse data in a secure and structured way. This better data management enables agricultural organisations to make data driven decisions, identify trends and optimise their operations for WAY better agricultural production. For example by using digital forms to track soil quality and water usage farmers can implement smart farming solutions that improve crop health and productivity.
Digital Forms
Digital forms have many advantages over paper based forms – and the benefits of switching from paper to digital forms can be enjoyed almost immediately.
- Convenience: Digital forms can be accessed and filled out anywhere, anytime using a mobile or desktop device. This is especially useful for field trials where data needs to be collected in real time and from multiple locations.
- Accuracy: By minimising errors and inconsistencies digital forms ensure the data collected is accurate and trusted. That’s critical for decision making in precision agriculture.
- Security: Digital forms provides a secure platform for data collection and storage, keeping sensitive information out of reach. That’s critical for research data in agriculture.
- Scalability: Digital forms can be scaled up or down to suit growing agricultural organisations. Whether you are running small trials or large studies digital forms can adapt to your needs.
- Cost savings: By eliminating paper, printing and storage digital forms is a cost effective solution for data collection and management. That reduces operational costs and supports environmentally friendly practices.
By using digital forms agricultural organisations can simplify their operations, better manage data and improve user experience whether its stock management or no-code apps in seed testing. Whether you are into smart farming, precision agriculture or any other part of the agricultural sector digital forms can help you achieve your goals and stay ahead of the competition.
Sew the seeds of success with digital forms and no-code apps for agriculture (I had to make a pun – if you’re reading this congratulations!)
Digital forms and no-code apps available on the forms2 platform makes field trial activities that were once tedious and time consuming into simple, precise and data heavy processes. So you can get more out of your trials, make data driven decisions faster and drive crop yield and resilience innovation.
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Read our mobile forms and business app case studies to see how we’ve helped the agriculture industry improve their processes with low-code/no-code business apps, mobile forms and no-code apps in seed testing.
If you want to know whether low-code/no-code is the future (it is), especially for building no-code apps in seed testing, then all you have to do is compare the costs of low-code vs traditional development and you’ll get a good idea. In short – it’s WAY cheaper than building an app in the traditional way!
At prices starting from $18* per user per month, we’re actually one of the cheapest no-code platforms for enterprise organisations out there!
Watch how TD Construction Testing saved £30k per year using digital forms!
