Over the last few years I have been asked by field-based staff who are training vegetable and rice farmers in Integrated Pest Management to recommend a comprehensive text book for identification of insect pests, weeds and diseases, as well as recommendations on control. I searched in vain - perhaps several different books might suffice, but was this really practical?

It was therefore with some interest that I read of the release of a CD-ROM - the Crop Protection Compendium: Module 1 SouthEast Asia and Pacific, released by CAB International. This promised to be the answer to my problems a single CD-ROM - 540 MB of information on a single disk - but is it a research tool or a practical source of information for field officers? There was only one way to find out, and that was to give it a test.

The Compendium is divided various modules:

• Information on crops, pests, natural enemies and even countries.
• A bibliographic database where you can search for references to one or several linked key terms.
• A glossary, which not only gives definitions of common scientific, biological or agricultural terms, but also information on chemical pesticides.
• Taxonomic keys for insects, nematodes and weeds.

The Compendium has the facility to search for pests on the basis of crop attacked and damage observed, which is by far the most potentially useful part of the package. A list of possible species is generated after which it is possible to look up each in turn. Full data sheets are available for the most common species - these include scientific and common names, taxonomic position, host range, geographic distribution maps and in many cases a drawing or photograph of the pest and in some cases damaged caused. Notes are also available that describe the biology and ecology of the organism, and for pests methods of control. An emphasis is placed on cultural and biological control methods, although chemical control is not neglected.

There are full data sheets on several natural enemies as well, for example nuclear polyhedrosis virus of Helicoverpa armigera. For many species, there are only partial data sheets, with just a limited distribution list and information on taxonomic position and host range. This is particularly true for species that are not normally found in SouthEast Asia and the Pacific. It is likely that later (and geographically broader) versions will include more data on these, however, their inclusion is useful because of another very good feature of the Compendium - the notebook. This allows the user to add their own notes to a file attached to an entry, thus allowing for updating and correction.

Unknown specimens of insect, nematodes and weeds can be identified down to at least family, if not species level using the diagnostic keys modules. Where possible links to the data sheet on the organism can be called up on completion of the identification. I found the weed identification key particularly easy to use - perhaps because it is not necessary to use a microscope or hand lens to identify key feature of the organism, but also because the final identification stage is often a colour picture.

For those that want more information of a specific organism, control techniques etc. you can go to the bibliographic search - here CAB International has much experience and the abstracted information is very good. Surprisingly, I found that with long searches the programme would crash on my computer - a bit annoying and something that hopefully would not occur in later versions.

I also have found the information available for countries and crops (taken from FAO statistics) to be useful when preparing general reports - information such as land-use area, crop production data for specific countries is available in tabular and graphical form, as is pesticide use figures.

In summary, the Compendium is packed full of information that can be used at different levels - to get general information on crops and pests, or to get detailed information on control. The major pest species are covered, little information being available for minor pests. I found it this took little time to get used to using the Compendium and now use it routinely - but what of my field staff? I work with some 20-field staff based all over Sri Lanka. The Compendium has been shown to them all and we have searched for information on pests - the discovery of the serpentine leafminer in a vegetable growing region of Sri Lanka is an example where we were able to confirm the identity the problem and look up potential solutions for farmers to test. The verdict of the staff is that they all wish to have access to a copy of the Compendium, but is it practical? What about access to computers? Wouldn't books be better? The convenience of being able to search for things interactively and the amount of information in a single data source is a great advantage. In terms of the need for computer hardware - most offices of larger NGOs and other organisations, such as resea rch stations, now have access to computers and CD-ROM players are now cheap (less than US$ 100). Access to hardware, is therefore, something that is, and will be, increasingly less of a problem.

To answer my first question - is it for researchers or field workers? The answer must be both, but with particular emphasis on the field worker.

And the cost of the CD-ROM: US$2000 for developed country organisations, or US$500 for developing country organisations and agencies (including NGOs) - the latter being the cost of one or two days of a consultancy. I think it is an investment worth making - I look forward to the worldwide version!

Keith Jones
CARE Sri Lanka

11/25/97