ABSTRACT
A Boll Weevil Eradication Expert System (BWEES) was developed to incorporate the necessary entomological, agronomical, and logistical elements to support program managers in effectively carrying out area-wide boll weevil eradication programs. This computer-based decision support system is designed to generate real-time tactical decisions for boll weevil eradication management on a local scale. The decision making process is determined by using two main parameters, boll weevil population density provided by means of trapping, and crop phenology in each cotton field. The BWEES is devised to interact with other computerized technologies in accumulating the necessary information for the decision making process. Technologies include the differentially corrected global positioning system (DGPS) for mapping and aerial application of insecticides, and the bar code system for trapping and crop phenology information collection. The BWEES runs on a personal computer in a 32-bit Windows environment connected to a file server utilizing the Novell network operating system and Oracle8 as a client-server relational database. The system can also run on a stand-alone personal computer utilizing Oracle8 Personal Edition.
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