PSM-DOK: is the free German spray record tool enough?
PSM-DOK is a free web app from German federal states for plant protection records. What it does, where it applies and when farm software makes more sense.
Key points
- What: PSM-DOK is an online platform for electronic records of plant protection applications, provided by the rural service centre DLR Rheinpfalz.
- Cost: free of charge, without subscription or registration.
- States: Baden-Württemberg, Brandenburg, Hesse, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Schleswig-Holstein.
- Not available: for farms based in Bavaria, Berlin, Bremen, Hamburg and Thuringia; as of 8 December 2025, Lower Saxony had not yet decided.
- Storage: records are stored locally at the farm; export as PDF and JSON.
- Limits: plant protection records only; the description does not mention fertilisation, team functions or a map view.
Try PhytAI free for 30 days
- No payment details needed
- Export all your data as CSV, JSON and Shapefile at any time
- from €59.00 a year
From 1 January 2027, plant protection applications in Germany must be recorded electronically and in machine-readable form. Farms that have documented on paper are looking for a simple solution, and farms losing farm software such as 365FarmNet wonder whether they can manage without new software. An obvious answer is PSM-DOK, a free web application offered by several German federal states. This article describes what PSM-DOK does according to its own information, who it suits and when farm management software is the better choice.
What PSM-DOK is
PSM-DOK goes back to an initiative of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate. It is implemented and provided by DLR Rheinpfalz and reached through the PS Info portal. According to agrarheute, it is a free online platform of the official advisory services that allows farmers to document plant protection applications electronically and in machine-readable form. According to the platform, its scope matches the legal minimum requirements including the extensions under Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/564 that have applied since 1 January 2026.
What PSM-DOK can do
According to the description on psmdok.de, the application offers:
- a farm file with name, address, responsible person and IACS number
- the type of application: open field, protected structures or seed treatment
- location by GPS point, field block with plot number or cadastral parcel
- crop selection from the PS Info database with search by German or botanical name, BVL or EPPO code
- a selection list for the BBCH stage
- authorised plant protection products from the BVL's monthly data, including parallel imports
- tank mixes with several products and freely entered application rates, plus additives
- export as PDF and JSON in a ZIP file per record
The application runs in the browser on all devices; no app is needed. Records are stored locally at the farm. According to agrarheute, this means data sovereignty stays with the farms.
Who PSM-DOK suits
agrarheute describes the target group mainly as smaller farms with few plant protection applications and farms without a digital farm management system. Typical cases:
- part-time farms with few fields
- grassland farms with occasional spot treatment
- farms where one person does all applications
- farms that already manage fertilisation and fields elsewhere
For these farms PSM-DOK is a solid, free way to meet the obligation from 2027.
Where the limits are
As farm size and the number of people involved grow, limits appear that follow from its design as a pure recording aid. The following points refer to the platform's description as of September 2026:
- Plant protection only: fertiliser requirement calculation, fertilisation records under section 10 DüV, Annex 5 and manure must be kept elsewhere.
- Local storage: the data stays at the farm. Anyone using several devices or working with staff must merge and back up files themselves. If a device is lost, a backup matters.
- No team: assigning jobs to staff or contractors, approvals and a shared view of progress are not described.
- No field management: field boundaries, crop history over years and GAEC evaluations are not described.
- No field-level checks: checking distances to water or protected areas for the specific field is not described.
- State restriction: farms in Bavaria, Thuringia and the city states cannot use PSM-DOK.
PSM-DOK, spreadsheet or farm software?
| Solution | Cost | Suits | Limits |
|---|---|---|---|
| PSM-DOK | free | few applications, one person, participating states | plant protection only, local storage |
| Spreadsheet (CSV/Excel) | free | very small farms comfortable with spreadsheets | no checks, errors in codes and columns, laborious upkeep |
| Farm software | annual subscription | several fields, crops, people or enterprises | cost, learning time |
The Hesse state agricultural agency points out that records may for now also be kept in Excel spreadsheets if they are set up to meet the legal requirements. Which details these are is described in Plant protection records: required fields.
Decision guide
Ask yourself four questions:
- Is my farm in a participating state? If not, PSM-DOK is not an option.
- How many applications do I have per year? For a handful, a simple solution is enough; for dozens, convenience pays off.
- Do several people record? Then a shared database becomes important.
- What else do I have to keep besides plant protection? Fertilisation, evidence, water, organic or plant passports point towards farm software.
Moving from 365FarmNet
Farms using 365FarmNet usually documented more than plant protection: fields, fertilisation, harvest, stock. PSM-DOK replaces only part of that. Back up all data before 30 November 2026, as described in How to export your data from 365FarmNet, and then decide whether the free solution is enough for your farm.
Where PhytAI fits
PhytAI is farm record software for mandatory documentation in arable farming, vegetable and fruit growing and nurseries. Besides plant protection records with required-field checks, matching against the BVL register and checks of conditions such as distances to water, PhytAI covers fertiliser requirement calculation and fertilisation under the DüV, evidence, water and team tasks. The data lives in one shared database for all users of the farm and can be exported as CSV and JSON. PhytAI costs 59, 179 or 419 euros per year including VAT, depending on area, and can be tried free for 30 days. Anyone working alone with few applications is well served by PSM-DOK.
Frequently asked questions
Does PSM-DOK meet the obligation from 2027? According to the platform, its scope matches the legal minimum requirements including the extensions since 2026.
Where is my data stored with PSM-DOK? According to the platform and agrarheute, locally at the farm. Make sure you keep a backup yourself.
Can PSM-DOK data later be imported into farm software? PSM-DOK exports JSON. Whether and how software can read it depends on the provider; ask before switching.
Sources
- PS Info: PSM-DOK, retrieved 17 Sep 2026
- PSM-DOK: Über PSM-DOK, retrieved 17 Sep 2026
- agrarheute: Pflanzenschutz elektronisch dokumentieren: Pflicht ab 2027, 29 Jan 2026, retrieved 17 Sep 2026
- Hesse State Agricultural Agency: Pflanzenschutz-Dokumentation: Hinweise zu den Neuerungen ab 2026, 10 Nov 2025, retrieved 17 Sep 2026
This article reflects the situation on the date shown, based on the sources named, and is not legal advice. Laws, approvals, official decisions and the guidance of the competent authorities prevail.