Pests and Diseases Image Library workshop
Screens from the PaDIL
database showing red
imported fire ant images.
Border Security and Plant Health are critical to the economic, social and environmental wellbeing of Australia and New Zealand. Inadequate taxonomic expertise is a common problem for both countries and a number of collaborative programmes are underway to address this issue.
PaDIL (Pests and Diseases Image Library, www.padil.gov.au 
) is one of the programmes initiated by the Australian Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) – with support from Plant Health Australia and the Cooperative Research Centre National Plant Biosecurity (CRC NPB) – to address the decline of taxonomic expertise, increasing risk of incursions and the increasing number of identifications required.
PaDIL is an on-line electronic image library which provides high-quality images of mainly exotic targeted organisms of plant health concern. PaDIL combines leading-edge technology in light microscopy, digital imaging and image manipulation. The imaging technology employed includes capturing a series of images, each providing an in-focus image of part of the photographed organism; then each series of images is combined to create a single new image. Diagnostic images of specimens are shown in true-life colour and in the best orientation to view the specimen. The result is a collection of 'virtual specimens', allowing a user with a microscope linked to a computer to focus on different parts of the viewed organism, simultaneously comparing what they see against a single PaDIL image.
At present, PaDIL contains almost 1,000 species which include about 100 pathogens. There is a wide coverage of pest species, ranging from timber and stored food pests to horticultural pests. The geographical pest coverage is world wide. There are many other features available in PaDIL, e.g., Google Maps, a Google Earth interface, illustrated diagnostic keys, on-line tutorials and details of voucher specimens. It acts as a virtual technical reference collection. The PaDIL database not only facilitates identification work but also helps to train a new generation of taxonomists and overcomes the expense of maintaining centralised reference collections. PaDIL has become an internationally recognised entity addressing issues on invasive species and ecosystem (agricultural, forestry and natural system) health.
The Plant Health and Environment Laboratory (PHEL), Investigation and Diagnostic Centre, MAF Biosecurity New Zealand, organised three one-day workshops on PaDIL in November 2007. They were organised in collaboration with Museum Victoria, Melbourne, Australia. Two workshops were conducted in Auckland and one in Lincoln near Christchurch. The aim was to raise the awareness of the PaDIL database, train users on operations/functions of PaDIL and encourage scientists to contribute to and develop the database. Workshop participants included scientists from Crop & Food Research, university staff, taxonomists from Landcare Research, Quarantine Inspectors, surveyors, trainers from MAFBNZ Cargo and staff from AsureQuality pest and disease laboratories, and PHEL. Forty-five people attended these very successful workshops.
- Dr Lalith Kumarasinghe, Scientist/Coordinator Border Diagnostic Programme, Investigation and Diagnostic Centre, Plant Health and Environment Laboratory, MAF Biosecurity New Zealand, phone 09 909 5713
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Page last updated: 2 July 2010