S. Helen and F.M.H. Kaleel
This research paper focuses on the assessment of the information efficiency of agricultural expert system-‘Diagnos- 4’, developed by Kerala Agricultural University based on the perception of extension personnel. The extension personnel working in Palakkad district of Kerala were selected for the study. Out of two groups, first group was exposed to Agricultural Expert System alone (T1) and the other group were exposed to Agricultural Expert System with human expert (T2). Information Efficiency Scale was developed and standardized using the dimensions such as retrievability, relevancy, practicability, information content and knowledge gain by the extension personnel. The combination of Agricultural Expert System and human expertise showed the higher degree of information efficiency between the treatment groups of extension personnel. Extension personnel rated retrievability of information from the Agricultural Expert System was least and hence the path way of retrieving information required improvement. Extension personnel as prospective users needed an orientation in using the Agricultural Expert System before introducing it among them
Keyword: Agricultural expert syste