WEB-BASED SYSTEM FOR MONITORING COCONUT NURSERIES FOR COCONUT RESEARCH INSTITUTE OF SRI LANKA

Abstract

As one of the key research institutes of Sri Lanka, Coconut Research Institute (CRI) plays a vital role in the coconut industry which is a major contributor to the economy of the country. Among the main functions of the CRI, producing improved coconut varieties using advanced Genetics and Plant Breeding techniques is a crucial task for catering National Coconut Re-planting Programme (NCRP) of the country. Apart from producing improved seed nuts using facilities called Seed Gardens, producing of seedlings from relevant seed nuts is also a very important step in the entire process of catering for NCRP. This is achieved through a network of nurseries situated around the country. Proper maintaining of these nurseries and regular monitoring of ongoing activities are vital for the smooth functioning of the entire process. At present most of the relevant activities are done manually by the staff concerned. Because of the inherent difficulties of the manual process and its low level of reliability, there is a necessity to automate the manual process. The main objective of this system is catering for above necessity. Another main objective of the proposed system is providing a way of online ordering of seedlings for the coconut growers. This system should provide adequate facilities for achieving above objectives and to be completed within 6 months period. Open-source software tools should be used as much as possible. This should be compatible with the existing systems and should provide interfaces to be extended as a networked system if required. This should be compatible with the platform on hand. Learning curve should be reliably short while providing user friendly GUI. Reliability, Accuracy and Security are the main Non-functional requirements of the system. The system has been developed using Object Oriented techniques. In addition, Unified Modeling Language (UML) has been used for analysis and design. Hypertext Pre-processor (PHP) which is a server-side scripting language has been used to build the system and Apache has been used as the web server, meanwhile MySQL has been used to handle databases. Since this is a web based system, it could be operated either in Windows or Linux environment. The System has already been installed at the Seedling Certification Unit of CRI and the Nurseries concerned. After providing necessary infrastructure for the proper functioning of the System, expected benefits and objectives of the System can be obtained in every respect. The feedback of the users of the System is very affirmative and the management of the CRI has been persuaded of the worthiness of the System.