Tuesday, 19 November 2002
D0293

This presentation is part of : Display Presentations, Subsection Ca. Biological Control

Implications of a weevil expert/information system and biological control of weeds in the United States and Canada

Muhammad Haseeb and Charles W. O'Brien. Florida A&M University, Center for Biological Control, 105 Perry-Paige Building (South), Tallahassee, FL

We have developed a computer based expert/information system to be used for the identification of weevil biological control agents, selected for use against target weeds in the United States and Canada. Included in the system are 26 genera and 40 species of weevils introduced to control various terrestrial and aquatic weeds. The operation of this expert/information system is simple and makes it very easy to identify weevil species by non-specialists, e.g., commercial farmers, students, agricultural scientists, extension agents, as well as by biological control specialists. Included are eight parameters for each species, [e.g., species common name (when available), scientific name, host plant(s), introduction, description, collection techniques, specific damage and overall damage], which should be useful for all workers engaged in this area of research. This user-friendly system is divided into a number of interactive keys, simple questions, and help screens; which should enable users to find their answers in a few minutes.

Keywords: biological control, expert system

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