Development of an agricultural expert system and its impact on the farm

The introduction of expert systems into agriculture promises to provide producers with electronic decision-making support capable of interpreting and integrating large amounts of information from a variety of sources. By substituting high-quality information for purchased inputs the producer may realize increased production efficiencies while decreasing environmental impacts. This paper describes the Penn State Apple Orchard Consultant, an expert system developed for apple orchard management. The system was field tested for two years with commercial growers in Pennsylvania. Changes in knowledge, practices and profitability were documented. -Authors