Sentinel is an information library for Gatekeeper users. It contains information on plant protection products, as well as wider industry information such as recommended lists, RB209 information, and an extensive photo library of common weeds, pests, and diseases.
Sentinel Viewer comes as standard with all Gatekeeper sites; users may view limited library information and benefit from product pick lists when adding new products.
Sentinel Active is a subscription option which gives access to the full product library including product approvals, and the Sentinel Active verification system. Sentinel verification checks your planned use of registered plant protection products against their allowed uses, and gives you a traffic light result for peace of mind.
The table below gives a summary of the main features but is not exhaustive:
In addition, selected industry partners have access to a Sentinel-only version of Gatekeeper, which gives access to all the library features of a Sentinel Active subscription, but not the verification or reporting functionality.
A note on products and labels
The Sentinel product list is currently based only on approved PPPs – products which carry a MAPP number. Adjuvants, trace elements, biostimulants and other similar products will not appear in product searches or the library contents.
Sentinel hosts a large number of product labels, but we are reliant on these documents being made available to us by manufacturers to be able to include them. Therefore, the label library is not exhaustive and does not contain a label for every product listed. However, the Sentinel library does contain every approved PPP up to the latest data update.
Navigating Sentinel
Sentinel is navigated using an expanding tree menu on the left hand side of the window. The ‘Plant Protection Products’ section contains product details:
Products are separated into ‘Products’ and ‘Products: Expired’ for ease of navigation. • ‘Product Guides’ contains product labels
‘New Approvals’ and ‘Expired Products’ listing are regularly updated lists of the new products for the UK market, and of products with upcoming expiries.
The ‘Decision Support’ node contains links to a host of useful industry and agronomic information:
Crop nutrition sections contain RB209 and NVZ information for fertiliser planning
Recommended lists are updated regularly with variety information
‘What’s in your crop?’ has links through to a wide-ranging photograph library showing various weeds, pests, and diseases of crops, symptoms of nutrient deficiencies, and much more.
Viewing product information
For Sentinel Active customers, product information is split into two pages. The product page shows key information, and then lists the crop approvals for that product. Clicking through to a crop approval will then display the conditions of use for the product on the selected crop.
Using the search facility
Sentinel search can be used in two ways. The ‘Text Search’ function allows users to find information on a specified product, MAPP number, EAMU, or tag. The ‘Product Interrogator’ function allows users to specify product characteristics or combinations (such as crops, product type, or active ingredients) and see which PPPs meet those requirements.
The search function is accessed from the main Sentinel screen using the magnifying glass icon:
Using text search
Type the term you wish to search (product name or tag, MAPP number, EAMU)
Select the correct search attribute
Click ‘Search’
The ‘tag’ attribute allows you to search the library by topic: any product, label, or library page which has been tagged with the search term will be returned in the search results. Tag searches could include active ingredients, AI groups, or target pests.
Using the Product Interrogator
Please note the full product interrogator functionality is only available to Sentinel Active subscribers.
Change the ‘Search type’ dropdown to ‘Product Interrogator’
Specify the product requirements on each of the tabs as required by using the tick boxes to activate lists or parameters
Click ‘Interrogate’
Tips for use:
Ticking the ‘COPR/PPPR’ box on the ‘Approval’ tab will ensure that you are only returned currently active products
Agronomists using site or organisation catalogues may wish to tick ‘Include only products also found in your catalogue’ if you do not wish to see approved products which are not in your catalogue.
If specifying active ingredients, it is possible to:
Jump down the list by using your keyboard to enter the first letter of the active you wish to select
Select more than one active ingredient by using CTRL on your keyboard
Using the ‘Find Equivalent Products’ link
For Sentinel Active subscribers, all product pages will have a ‘Find Equivalent Products’ link at the top of the page.
Clicking this link will take you through to a product interrogator page. You do not need to change any parameters, although you may wish to navigate to the ‘Approval’ tab and tick ‘COPR/PPPR’ to ensure the search only returns currently approved products. Click ‘Interrogate’, and any products with the same active ingredient(s) will be returned.
Understanding search returns
The results of a search are divided into sections according to the results found:
The ‘Products’ section contains links to any products in the Sentinel library which contain the search term. Products will be sub-divided into product type.
The ‘Topics’ section will display any page or document which has been tagged with the search term. Where a product name is displayed as a topic, this often indicates that a product label is available.
