The Development of Web-based Searchable Databases for the Green Industry

Abstract

Despite the explosion of resources on the World Wide Web (Web) over the past 3 years, there are still relatively few sites that provide easily accessible diagnostic information on horticultural subjects. For members of the Green industry, (i.e., greenhouse and nursery growers, landscape contractors, and scouting professionals) there is a real need for Web-based resources that provide detailed information on specific subjects that can be accessed at any time. The creation of diagnostic pictorial databases with self-learning capabilities (e.g., hyperlinked glossaries to technical terms) that are carefully designed to include expert diagnostic advice, with methods of control specifically keyed to the diagnosis, will be a powerful method to educate and inform users from the industry and in the classroom. One such database, called Tospovirus, has been developed by the authors that can be searched by host species and tissue type, since this important virus has a wide host range and symptomatology. Since at the present time the only control measure for this virus is eradication, growers can use this database to immediately identify suspicious plants in the greenhouse or nursery before further infection occurs. The development process of this database will be outlined to give the audience an idea of the decision-making process involved in this rapidly evolving method of information transfer.