Representing and integrating agro plant-protection data into semantic web through a crop-pest ontology: The case of the Greek Ministry of Rural Development and Food (GMRDF) Ontology

Abstract: The FAO is working actively with linked data to bring together those working with agricultural data via the use of a number of semantic taxonomies. We have developed the first Greek crop-pest ontology which links data of the crop protection domain using AIMS/FAO object properties and SKOS conceptual schemes. The concepts we have developed include relations between pest types, hosts and management actions. Particularly, it facilitate retrieval of pesticides information which have received a registration for certain crops for the Greek marked by the GMRDF, as well as related information such as: pesticides category, type of ingredient, mode of action, method of application, lethal doses, supplier info, registration dates, etc. Additionally, the ontology contains more than 100 host-specific arthropods pests and plant diseases which are conceptually classified with their scientific names and related host preferences. Twenty years ago, IOBC published a document that can be considered as one of the cornerstones of Integrated Production in Europe. Key element in this collection of documents is the Declaration of Ovrannaz. It was established by a group of entomologists that met in the Switzerland to discuss basic aspects and principles of Integrated Plant protection and production. It is gratifying to observe that the work of the IOBC carried out during the last 20 years has not only found its precipitation in European agriculture but has also generated interest outside the WPRS-region.