A Computer-based System for the Management of Field Crop Pests

This article describes an expert system, COT-XPERT, developed for controlling pests and diseases affecting cotton crop as well as a system for Rice Stem Borers (RSB) simulation. The system works in two parts: The first part addresses the issues of efficient use of knowledge for RSB problem and predicts the population build-up of RSB after a certain period of time by taking into consideration weather factor, number of larvae per square metre present earlier, fecundity of female and dispersal pattern, etc. The second part is an expert system for the management of cotton pests which diagnoses the pest problem by using information about the damage inflicted to the crop or based on its morphology and displays all technical information about the pests as well as efficient control measures for a particular pest. The paper concludes with a mention of some of the limitations and future research directions for enhancing the qualities of the system.