Skip to main content
ARS Home » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #160720
Title: WEEDS OF THE U.S. AND CANADA DVD-ROM VERSION 3.0 UPDATE

Author
item DEFELICE, M - PIONEER HI-BRED INT
item Bryson, Charles

Submitted to: Proceedings of Southern Weed Science Society
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/1/2003
Publication Date: 2/26/2004
Citation: Defelice, M.S., Bryson, C.T. 2004. Weeds of the U.S. and Canada DVD-ROM Version 3.0 Update. Proceedings of Southern Weed Science Society.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: The next version of the Southern Weed Science Society's interactive weed identification software (Version 3.0) is nearing completion and should be available by August of 2004. The program provides lessons and exercises on the principles of weed and plant identification and a database of photographs and descriptions of over 420 weed species common to the continental United States, Canada, and Alaska. The software program targets colleges and universities, high schools, extension, government agencies, horticulturalists, botanists, gardeners, and the agricultural industry to provide a premier reference and teaching tool on plant and weed identification. Version 3.0 of the software is a major upgrade and overhaul of the entire program. The resolution of the program was increased from 640 x 480 pixels to 1024 by 768 pixels in size. Video color depth requirements were increased from 256 to 16 million (24-bit) colors. This required rebuilding the entire program including re-editing and importing all 2,200 + photographs, upgrading and re-importing all illustrations, and rebuilding all of the interface elements of the program. Every screen had to be resized and rebuilt. The photographs and illustrations are now much larger, brighter, higher resolution, and have much better color and detail than before. This alone took over two years to complete. Content upgrades include the addition of over 60 new weed species photographed by Arlyn Evans, review and updates to the distribution maps and descriptions for all 420+ weed species as needed, addition of nine new "World of Weeds" articles, and further expansion of the illustrated glossary. A complete database driven key to the plant families and all weed species in the program has been added to the existing grass key. The grass key has also been upgraded to include more search criteria. Expansion of the program requires that Version 3.0 will be provided on DVD-ROM to accommodate the almost 3 GB of files. The program will require a computer with a Pentium processor, 256 Mb of RAM, DVD-ROM drive, audio card, 1024 x 768 resolution graphics with 24-bit color, and will run on Windows 98 Second Edition, Windows Me, Windows 2000, or Windows XP (versions of Windows that support DVD-ROM drives.) Version 3.0 of the SWSS weed identification software continues to be the premiere reference and teaching tool for weed and plant identification. A hallmark of the software is the depth of information and consistent quality of a full span of growth stage photographs from seed to flower provided for each weed. The interactive tutorial section on plant identification continues to be one of the finest teaching and training tools on plant identification available for students and professionals. Version 3.0 continues the SWSS Weed Identification committee's long commitment to provide the highest quality weed identification resources on the market.