and Integrated Pest Management - part - usaid

6G PESI1CIDE MANAGEMENT AND 1PM INSOUl]L EAST ASIA
can communicate directly with one another over vast distances. Unlike the
telephone, electronic mail does not require the simultaneous presence of the
sender and recipient and is thus excellent for conveying messages. In addition, it
can also store large numbers of text databases, like pest profiles and pesticide
information (Welch 1984). With hardware costs dropping rapidly, such a system
may become more acceptable in de Southeast Asian region.
VIDEOTEX The videotex system enables users to obtairn frames of information
through the ordinary telephone. These frames may be viewed through the
ordinary television, recorded onto cassette tapes using a normal tape recorder or
printed out using a thermal or dot matrix printer. In Britain, the PRESTEL
system carries more than 4,000 frames of agricultural information, principally
pest and disease intelligence reports (Houseman 1982). In addition, there are
frames of agricultural advisory information, such as pest control measures.
In Malaysia, videotex systems are available for corporate and public use.
Mere research is necessary to fully utilize such systems for extension purposes.
EXPERT SYSTEMS A potentially useful means of delivering pest
management information is the use of expert systen.s (Heong 1985, Heong &
Kenmore 1986). These are computer programs that offer solutions by
mimicking human reasoning processes (heuristics), employing a :nowledge base
of applications extracted from human experts (Waterman 1986). Examples of
these applications in pest management are in the areas of diagnostics, simulation
delivery and decision support. Examples of diagnostic systems are SYSTEX
(Systematics Expert System) in Texas which identifies insect species (Stone et
al. 1986) and PLANT/ds in Illinois, which diagnoses soybean diseases
(Michalski et al. 1983). As a simulation delivery system, the expert system acts
as the delivery shell for models, accessing the models when appropriate to
analyze problems. An example is an expert system for making
recommendations for the control of the velvetbean caterpillar (VBC) of soybean
in Florida (Jones et al. 1985). For decision support, the model is run outside the
expert system and the output is transferred back as updates. FLEX (Farm Level
Expert System) for cotton production in Texas is one such system (Stone et al.
1986). The expert system can also be made available to the extension worker
and farmers through videotex as in the WHEAT COUNSELLOR in England,
which diagnoses and advises on wheat disease control (Jones & Crates 1986).
With the development of microcomputer-based expert system shell
programs, it is becoming easier for pest management experts to build expert
systems. Such programs are portable and can form part of the regional DBMS
in the surveillance system. Expert system research is now being actively
pursued in Texas A&M, the University of Florida, and the Silwood Center for
Pest Management in England. For rice, the potential of employing expert
systems for extension is high and should be further investigated.
Regional Pest Surveillance Network
There is increasing evidence to show that several important rice pests are
constantly displaced by wind. Downwind flights of the BPH of up to 1,000 km