ECO-RATING SYSTEM FOR OPTIMIZING PESTICIDE USE AT FARM-LEVEL - PART 2- EVALUATION, EXAMPLES AND PILOTING

The development of a decision support system aims to encourage farmers in the UK to adopt a more environment-friendly approach to their dail y activities. Part of the system concentrates on crop protection encou raging best practice and the principles of integrated pest management. The system compares actual practices on a field-by-field basis with w hat is perceived to be best practice and, using scoring techniques, de rives numerical performance indices, known as eco-ratings, which lie o n a defined scale. The conceptual framework of the system is designed such that by analysing past decisions it can help to identify strength s and weaknesses of current practices and so support future decisions and planning. This paper presents some of the evaluation work and prov ides examples and information on the scoring system used. The examples used illustrate the success of the system in providing the user with sufficient advice and information such that informed decisions regardi ng pesticide choice, application and general management can be made. A n associated paper (Part 1) in this journal details the theory, design and development of the methodology. (C) 1997 Silsoe Research Institut e.