Evaluation of a decision support system for crop protection in apple orchards
A Web Decision Suport System (SSD Manzano) for the diagnosis and control of pests in apple orchards was evaluated from the practical and educational viewpoints. The system was implemented twelve years ago and since has been extensively used as a support tool to take decisions and education training. Basically, the system is built up of three different modules. The first module provides information about the biology of major pathogens, pests and weeds affecting the apple production. The second module is a visual key identification of the main disease symptoms, insect damages and weeds. A final module provides users with control recommendations to help in making management decisions. The system is enhanced with 1006 photos and drawings that assist the user in the identification process and choosing control measures. The system was evaluated with 30 technicians and 30 undergraduate students. Both groups were asked to mark in a table-like questionnaire the following criteria: usefulness of the information provide, user friendliness, easiness to learn, and educational relevance (only students).The participants assessed each of the criteria in a continuum 1–10 scale, corresponding to the following responses: 1 unsatisfactory and 10 extremely satisfactory. According to the evaluation results the system was considered very satisfactory with an average rank of 9.2 by extension workers and of 8.7 by agricultural students with a statistic mode ranking 10 in both cases. The students group was confronted with ten field samples with symptoms of diseases or insect damage previously identified, to perform their taxonomic identification with the only help from SSD Manzano. They were able to identify 92% of the pests correctly. The evaluation results revealed that the performance of the system was very satisfactory from practical and educational point of views.
| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Format: | artículo biblioteca |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2012-05
|
| Subjects: | Diseases identification, Pests identification, Weeds identification, Decision-making, Farmers, |
| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/10261/206104 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|