BBCH-scale

The BBCH-scale is a scale used to identify the phenological development stages of a plant. A series of BBCH-scales have been developed for a range of crop species. Phenological development stages of plants are used in a number of scientific disciplines (crop physiology, phytopathology, entomology, plant breeding) and in the agriculture industry (timing of pesticide application, fertization, agricultural insurance). The BBCH-scale uses a decimal code system, which is divided into principal and secondary growth stages, and is based on the cereal code system (Zadoks scale) developed by Zadoks et al. (1974).

Officially, the abbreviation BBCH derives from Biologische Bundesanstalt, Bundessortenamt and CHemical industry. Unofficially, the abbreviation is said to represent the four agrichemical companies (Bayer, BASF, Ciba-Geigy and Hoechst) that sponsored the initial development of the system.

A downloadable version of the BBCH Scales, including illustrations, is available from the BBA (Federal Biological Research Centre for Agriculture and Forestry)