Apple and Pear Scab Expert System

Plant disease, such as apple and pear scab, control is a crucial issue of fruit-growing. Apple and pear are among the most widely grown (approximately 43% of all fruit tree area) and economically important fruit crops worldwide and in Latvia. Research projects have produced research data covering various aspects of plant-pathogen interactions, but there is no internal linkage analysis, as well as implementation of other types of data (such as environmental and meteorological data, etc.). Establishing such a data integration system would allow the identification of new regularities in plant-pathogen interactions, and provide mechanisms for disease control decisions. In this study an expert system was developed aimed to help professional fruit-growers evaluate the possible impact of apple and pear scab to the plant health and yield quality. The expert system is based on a previously developed apple and pear scab ontology and consists of a web based front-end and triplestore back-end.