User Acceptance and Innovation Characteristics of “Deruta” Interface to System for Predicting Paddy Rice Growth

To manage rice cropping effectively, managers need to predict crop growth. We created the “Deruta” smartphone interface and a cloud-based system for predicting heading time and work periods for the main cultivars of paddy rice grown in Chiba Prefecture. “Deruta” presents dates predicted for a selected cultivar and transplanting date from AMeDAS data. It was developed with the intention of simplifying development, operation, and use. We asked 15 agricultural managers in Chiba Prefecture to test it. They found it is easy to operate, and as the accuracy of predicting heading date is within ±3 days, assessed it as effective for planning and timely implementation of management tasks, concluding that they would like to continue using it. The innovation adoption process of Rogers showed that the testers found “Deruta” to have attributes that accelerate adoption and to support sustainability. When we tested its use without limiting the number of users, many accesses were made, demonstrating the high degree of acceptability.