iCropTrak version 3, scheduled for release at the end of this month in the Apple App Store, expands available GIS data management features to allow vineyard block boundary and infrastructure maps to be managed entirely from the field. New capabilities allow users to digitize by drawing directly on the screen of an iPad or iPhone to create new block boundary information or add multiple data layers to the displayed map information. Support for establishing management zone boundaries within blocks simplifies the opportunity for the adoption of precision viticulture practices.

"We have taken the footprint of your desktop GIS software and removed the weight of the office, the licensing expense, the learning curve and the inability to share the data," said Rob Wood, iCropTrak product director. "Any iCropTrak user with appropriately assigned user role can keep map updates at their fingertips and the new boundaries, features or management zones that are added can be instantly shared with other users," he added.

The GIS map data management capabilities built into iCropTrak include the following capabilities:

• Add a new farm geographic data container directly from the iPad (or iPhone)
• Define geographic data layers (e.g. field boundaries, irrigation infrastructure, planting plan, drainage infrastructure, roads and services)
• Specify the layer type (e.g. polygon, line, point)
• Digitize data in the field with GPS or by using your finger in Draw mode
• Edit vertices to move lines, points or boundaries
• Specify the layer properties:
• Color and fill style
• Border width
• Set transparency
• Set display zoom level
• Set label size, color and masking
• Import as applied data (point data, raster data)
• Import raster layer data (e.g. NDVI)
• Create zones (e.g. an area of frost damage, an area of poor drainage, a buffer zone, a setback zone)
• Use built in digitizing tools for laying out regular shapes like circles (e.g. center pivot) or grids
• Measure distance and area
• Generate grid sampling layouts and sample points
• Import and export ESRI shape files

iCropTrak will be at Unified Wine and Grape Symposium in booth 2509.

More information about the iCropTrak GIS map management capabilities and a step by step guide can be viewed at www.icroptrak.com/farm-mapping-made-easy/

About iCropTrak

iCropTrak ensures that critical decision support data is always at hand. The solution runs natively on mobile tablet devices and works with or without internet connectivity. The product line was first launched 10 years ago and is managed and supported by our Tucson based engineering team. iCropTrak remains at the forefront of mobile solutions in the farming sector and has been awarded Top 10 recognition by 2012 World Ag Expo as well as CropLife magazine. iCropTrak Farm Plan functionality delivers another farming sector first by using easy to understand visualization capabilities supported by Gantt Charts with the combination of the data density and formatting structure of a forms driven interface. More information about iCropTrak Farm Plan capabilities can be found at www.vimeo.com/icroptrak/farmplan. Company information is available at www.icroptrak.com.