CROPES. A rule-based expert system for crop selection in India

Crop selection is a crucial and decisive task, given the dynamic environment of agricultural systems created by differences in climate, soils, topography, cultivation practices, and available resources. For farmers and farm managers, a decision regarding crop selection is a difficult task since a number of factors have to be considered. A solution to this predicament is an expert system that uses all available information to select the best suitable crops. In this article, the development of a PC-based expert system (CROPES) for selecting crops in a region in Tamilnadu, India, is presented. The system, acting as an intelligent consultant, asks a set of questions and then suggests appropriate crops. It recommends crops to a farmer at an early stage of crop planning based on location, climate, and farm level information pertaining to soils and available resources. The CROPES system was evaluated by specialists using farm data from a selection of farmers to assess its performance. It was found to be a valuable farm tool for crop selection.