THE revamp of a stockpile of pest and disease images is hoped to help with the handling of exotic incursions.
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Plant Health Australia (PHA) has relaunched the Pest and Disease Image Library (PaDIL) in order to give fast access to data and information for quick identification of foreign threats.
A scientific identification tool, PaDIL is an online database containing high-quality diagnostic images and information tools designed to assist agronomists, biosecurity officers, diagnosticians and researchers both in Australia and overseas.
The diagnostic tool, hosted by PHA, contains detailed records of invertebrates, bacteria, fungi, viruses and viroids, and phytoplasmas that threaten a range of agriculture sectors, animals and human health.
The refreshed system boasts improved search functionality, a diagnostic image comparison tool for specimen triaging and taxonomic identification, and increased representation of priority pest species.
The renewal, funded by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF), was done in partnership with Museums Victoria and the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, Western Australia (DPIRD, WA).
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PHA chief executive officer Sarah Corcoran said enhancing system integration was key to strengthening the national plant health system and using new tools and technologies drives actions that protect market access.
"PaDIL has been designed as a key diagnostic resource to increase both detection and diagnostic capability," Ms Corcoran said.
Australia's chief plant protection officer Dr Gabrielle Vivian-Smith said the upgraded PaDIL will assist a range of stakeholders including scientists, biosecurity officers, policy officers, farmers and citizen scientists to diagnose plant pests and diseases.
"The system will support further scientific research and activities to protect against and reduce the impact of pests and diseases," Dr Vivian-Smith said.
"Australia is lucky to be free from many of the world's most damaging plant pests, and our biosecurity system helps protect us from exotic plant pests."
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