Tropilég is designed to help technicians and producers across France’s overseas departments and regions (Guadeloupe, Guiana, Martinique, Mayotte and Reunion), some overseas communities (Wallis and Futuna, and French Polynesia) and New Caledonia to identify pests and diseases, and to choose environmentally friendly and therefore sustainable protection.

It draws on the work not only of INRA (France’s National Institute for Agricultural Research) and CIRAD in these production areas, but also the knowledge and expertise of contributors belonging to various research and development organisations in these territories.

It offers users a number of access points. They can, for example, identify a problem through photographs, choosing either the damage observed or the pest discovered in the field. For damage observed, users then choose the crop in question and the part of the plant concerned (leaves, stems, roots and collars or fruit) and are presented with a range of photographs from which the disease can be identified.

Other sections of Tropilég offer a profile of each territory concerned (growing conditions, principal crops, challenges etc.), and access to information on each crop, accessible either through family (Brassicaceae etc,) or from a list of more than 60 different crops, ranging from the more mundane (potato, tomato, aubergine) through to crops more specific to these French territories.

Easy navigation is a feature of Tropilég and in the section dedicated to pests and diseases, for example, users choose from a list including fungi, bacteria, viruses etc. Taking viruses as an example, users then choose the way the virus is transmitted (aphids, whiteflies or thrips). Users are then presented with a list of viruses. Taking cucumber mosaic virus as an example, the virus and crop families affected are described, alongside recommended prevention and control measures.

The section dedicated to alternative protection methods is divided into types of approach (physical barriers, conservation biocontrol, push-pull strategies etc.). Taking the latter as an example, users are then presented with an outline of this approach, with another click producing a description of its advantages and limits or concrete examples of its use.

The final sections of Tropilég, which which will continue to be developed, offer details of contributors to the site and the opportunity for other organisations to contribute, and a complete index of pests, with links to more information where available.

For more information:

• Read about Tropilég on EcophytoPIC, France’s IPM portal, here (in French)
• Go directly to the Tropilég site here (in French)