Objective:
To maintain the ARS Biological Control Documentation Center for storage and retrieval of information on invertebrate and microbial biological control agents of invertebrate, weed and microbial pests. Specific objectives are to modernize the current ROBO database and bring data in ROBO up-to-date, and to conduct a pilot study as to centralization of biological control environmental assessment activities for ARS.

Approach:
Develop and test user-friendly, object-oriented PC data entry systems for importation of foreign invertebrates and microbial biological control agents; (2) for domestic quarantine consignment, shipment and release of imported invertebrate biological control agents and for the field release of imported microbial biological control agents; and (3) for the non-quarantine culture, shipment, release and recolonization of introduced biological control agents. Complete necessary programming to import data from the existing free tables in Oracle into working tables of the new ROBO system, using existing 1981-84 ROBO data; develop software to import ROBO data from PC data files at remote locations into Oracle on the GRIN Sun Computer; maintain data in Oracle on the central database by BCDC; and develop user-friendly query system for availability on the World Wide Web. Conduct assessment of procedures and regulatory requirements involved in ARS biological control research, and develop BCDC protocols for assisting in the regulatory process. Project number formerly 0501-22000-002 in mode code 0501-00; and 0201-22000-002-00D in mode code 0201-00.