Phytosphere
Research - Horticulture / Urban Forestry /
Plant Resources / Agriculture
California Oak Disease and Arthropod (CODA) host
index database
We have been seeking to make the data in CODA available
through a web-searchable database
for some time. Currently, USDA-Forest Service Region 5 has provided some funding
for this project. Phytosphere Research is working cooperatively with Forest
Service staff to develop this resource. As part of this project, we will be
adding images of agents and symptoms to CODA. We are actively seeking good-quality
images of oak disease and pest symptoms and that can be used in the web version
of CODA. Please contact Phytosphere
Research if you have images that you would be willing to contribute to the
digital image collection or if you would like further information about the
web-based version.
ABOUT CODA
Our goal in creating The California Oak Disease and Arthropod (CODA) host
index database and program was to increase communication and understanding
about oak pests and diseases in California, in order to help protect and
enhance our state's valuable oak resources. New and updated information
is added to the database as it is received, so the CODA database can serve
as a clearinghouse for information on diseases and pests of California
oaks.
The CODA database and its access program were originally developed for
the Forest and Rangeland Resource Assessment Program (now FRAP)
of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CDF). Ongoing
maintenance and distribution of CODA is provided as a public service by
Phytosphere Research. The database was developed by Ted Swiecki and Elizabeth
Bernhardt (Phytosphere Research), Richard Arnold (Entomological Consulting
Services, Ltd.), and Jim Kellogg (Tierra Data Systems).
INFORMATION IN THE CODA
DATABASE
The CODA host index database and program is a comprehensive computerized
compilation of the many agents that affect oaks in California. CODA currently
contains records for more than 1800 arthropods (insects and mites) that
feed directly on oak tissues. CODA also documents more than 750 interactions
between oaks and microorganisms. The microorganisms in CODA include plant
pathogens, saprophytes, and mycorrhizal species. The information in CODA
comes from over 300 published and unpublished sources.
CODA contains specific information for each reported host-agent interaction,
including the fields that describe the following:
--reported distribution of the host-agent interaction
--types of growing situations (e.g., range, urban landscape) under which
the interaction has been observed
--host life stages attacked
--host symptoms and agent signs, including the location and maturity of
affected plant parts
--whether the agent attacks healthy or compromised tissue
--whether symptoms listed are a direct or indirect result of attack
--other notes about the interaction
Because of the limitations of available data, many records in CODA
do not contain complete information in all of these fields.
CODA also contains information specific to each disease agent, host,
and reference. Disease agents and arthropods are identified with hierarchical
taxonomic and non-taxonomic codes. True taxonomic synonyms as well as other
scientific names that have been encountered in the literature are listed
in a synonym field for each agent. CODA also contains descriptions of the
included oak host species, and full literature citations and descriptive
notes for references.
The information in CODA is found in a set of related DBase III-compatible
database files. The simplest way for most users to access the data is via
the CODA access software, which can be downloaded from this site.
Read our online paper on CODA for further statistics
and information on arthropod pests and diseases of California oaks.
THE CODA ACCESS PROGRAM
The CODA access program is a DOS application designed specifically to access,
filter, and produce reports on information in the CODA database. The program
includes functions to translate all coded information on screen and in
printed reports. A filter function allows the database to be searched for
specific agent-host combinations that match various user-supplied criteria,
such as specific symptoms. This enables the user to generate lists of agents
that might be the cause of a certain type of damage, for example. The report
function includes the option to send the report to a file, which can subsequently
be edited and formatted with a word processing program.
The access program will run on most PCs that can run MS-DOS applications, including
PCs running Windows 3.1, 95/98, NT and Apple Macintosh computers with software
that emulates DOS. In order to run the CODA access software, you need at least
5 megabytes of hard disk free space, and DOS version 3.3 or higher. However,
the access program is incompatible with some network drivers and some glitches
show up on newer operating systems. The current version of the access
program is version 3.3, released in July 1993, so it is in many ways a fossil.
CODA was previously distributed by mail, but is now available only through
download from this site. You should also download a copy of the User Manual,
which describes how to load and use the CODA access program.
Download the User Manual (Released 10/00,
ASCII text file, 58K)
Download the CODA access program (Version
3.3, self-extracting PKZIP compressed file, 138K)
DOWNLOAD
CODA DATA FILES
The most current CODA database files are at the web based version
of CODA. An old version of the CODA database files are available for downloading
at this site. The files are compressed in a self-extracting file named CODAnnnn.EXE
where nnnn are four digits corresponding to the data release month and year (e.g.,
CODA0697.EXE is data release 6/97).
Download CODA database files (Release 11/00,
self-extracting PKZIP compressed file, 367K)
The current database files available for downloading from this site were last
updated in November 2000.
INSTALLING DOWNLOADED
FILES
If you have a copy of the CODA access program version 3.3 installed on your computer,
you can update the data files using the following procedure:
- Copy the CODAnnnn.EXE file to the directory that contains the CODA software
(usually C:\CODA).
- From a DOS prompt within the CODA directory, type the name of the CODAnnnn.EXE
file. Alternatively, from the Windows (3.1) File Manager, you may simply double
click on the filename. If you use File Manager, be sure to press F5 (or click
Window/Refresh) so that the newly expanded files will show up. The files UPDATE.BAT
and CODAFILE.EXE should now be in the CODA directory.
- From a DOS prompt within the CODA directory, type UPDATE. If using the
Windows (3.1) File Manager instead, you may simply double click on the file
UPDATE.BAT. The update program will erase the old database index files, decompress
the new database files and overwrite the old ones, and finally erase the CODAFILE.EXE
and UPDATE.BAT files.
- Note: You may need to manually expand the files in the codafile.zip file
if the self-extraction program fails on your system. Open the directory in
Windows explorer and double click on the file. Most systems have utilities
that expand .zip files. If yours doesn't, you can get a free download of PKZIP
from PKware (http://www.pkware.com).
- You can now start the CODA program in the usual way. There will be a delay
as the index files are recreated the first time you use the program after
updating.
- Once you are satisfied that the update was successful, you may want to
erase the CODAnnnn.EXE file.
PLEASE NOTE: The CODAnnnn.EXE file contains only the data files used by the CODA
access program. You must have the CODA version 3.3 access program to run the CODA
program, so don't erase all the old files in the CODA directory!!
QUESTIONS AND NEW DATA RECORDS
If you have questions about the CODA program, or additional information
that should be included in CODA (new records, taxonomic changes, additional
range or symptom information, etc.) please contact:
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