The web-based Caribbean Pest Diagnostic Network (CPDN, previously known as CRDN) provides a collaboration and communication tool for first detectors, extension specialists and diagnosticians to share information on plant insects and diseases. The system uses field data and digital media as tools for enhancement of diagnosis of plant disease, insect, weed, invasive species, plant management, physiology, and nutrient problems.
Through interactions on the Internet between extension agents and specialists, problems can be quickly communicated and assessed. Specialists around the state can perform diagnosis and identification and provide best management practice recommendations to the users. The archived CPDN database becomes a resource for research, educational programs, and classroom teaching.
The threat of bioterrorism is real and has the potential to seriously damage our agriculture and food supply. The Web-based diagnostic system can be used as a tool to enhance the capacity for screening, monitoring, mapping pests in time and space, and quickly detecting high-consequence pests and dangerous plant pathogens that have been deliberately introduced into agricultural and natural ecosystems.