California PestCast is a collaborative project of the University of
California, the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR), and
the California agricultural industry. The goal of the project is to expand
the use of computer-based crop disease forecasting to reduce unnecessary
pesticide use. This project will provide an infrastructure to collect
appropriate weather data, facilitate the research and validation of models
of crop diseases, demonstrate their utility, and further local
implementation efforts. Based on proposals from industry and scientist
participants, regional weather networks are being developed. Data will be
gathered centrally, quality controlled, stored, and made available to
users. California PestCast has a technical advisory committee made up of
most of the research and extension plant pathologists within the University
of California system.
As part of this project, we are developing a centralized database
containing crop disease models. This will include models developed within
California, in other parts of the U.S. and in other countries. We would
like to take this opportunity to inform interested researchers and members
of the agricultural community about the existence of this project and also
solicit input on what crops, crop models, and what parameters should be
included in the database. The database is being constructed by Dr. Janet
C. Broome, plant pathologist with the California Department of Pesticide
Regulation, Joyce F. Strand, Meteorologist with the University of
California, Statewide IPM Project, and Nena Bloom, graduate student at the
University of California, Davis. The actual database will reside with the
rest of the California PestCast network at the University of California,
Statewide IPM Project.
*Information to be gathered and included in model database:
Crop
Disease common name
Pathogen
California-based work with model, stage of model development, location of work
Model developer and citation
Sensor locations - height and location relative to crop canopy
Input variables - environmental, host, and pathogen variables included
Algorithm - mathematical relationship between input variables and disease
Action threshold - Disease risk level and if based on real time weather
data or weather forecasts
Model Validation
Model Implementation
Current limitations and future directions of model
Related work - citations
Model Vendors and current price
The project is also interested in learning about other disease model
databases that may exist.
For more information on the disease database or to provide information on
models please contact Dr. Janet C. Broome, email: jbroome@cdpr.ca.gov,
Phone: 916-324-4279, or Nena Bloom, email: nbloom@cdpr.ca.gov Phone:
916-324-4330, Address: DPR 1020 N Street, Room 161, Sacramento, California
95814, USA. FAX: 916-324-4088. Information will also be posted shortly to
our homepage at http://www.cdpr.ca.gov.
Kathy Brunetti