Developing a computerised database system for recording the status of pests in the apple industry

A system for monitoring arthropod pests in apple orchards has been developed. A generic sampling plan which takes all the pests into account can be used. The levels of sampling error and degree of precision are known. Because of the low levels of tolerance for the pests (low economic threshold) the sampling errs are high, leading to low levels of precision for decision making regarding control measures. However, these data can be used for planning control strategies.