ONIONCARE+: A Mobile Expert System for Onion Disease Diagnosis and Prescription of Control Options in San Jose Occidental Mindoro, Philippines

Occidental Mindoro is recognized as the second top onion-producing province in the Philippines underlining San Jose as its top producer town, moreover, the MIMAROPA region which consists of Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon, and Palawan, is the top producer of onion crops with 55.3% in the second quarter of year 2023. However, onion diseases are still the main problem of the farmers which reduced onion yields and productivity. This study aims to address the concurrent issues in onion crops that subsequently occur such as diseases and pests. The OnionCare+ is a mobile expert system to presents the knowledge and proficiencies of agricultural technologists without their presence on the farm. A rule-based algorithm and platform were utilized in the study. An Iterative Waterfall Model methodology was used which allows the researchers to continuously and adjunctively meet the farmer's needs. The application's compatibility was tested in various Android operating system versions including Android 10 to 14. The evaluation was tried on 20 farmers. Finally, the evaluation has produced a grand mean of 4.5, interpreted as “Very Good” which means that the application is a valuable tool in addressing onion diseases and prescription of control options, providing knowledge about the different aspects that contributes to the harvest and total production on onions.