Early Poplar (Populus) Leaf-Based Disease Detection through Computer Vision, YOLOv8, and Contrast Stretching Technique

<i>Poplar</i> (<i>Populus</i>) trees play a vital role in various industries and in environmental sustainability. They are widely used for paper production, timber, and as windbreaks, in addition to their significant contributions to carbon sequestration. Given their economic and ecological importance, effective disease management is essential. Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs), particularly adept at processing visual information, are crucial for the accurate detection and classification of plant diseases. This study introduces a novel dataset of manually collected images of diseased <i>poplar</i> leaves from Uzbekistan and South Korea, enhancing the geographic diversity and application of the dataset. The disease classes consist of "Parsha (Scab)", "Brown-spotting", "White-Gray spotting", and "Rust", reflecting common afflictions in these regions. This dataset will be made publicly available to support ongoing research efforts. Employing the advanced YOLOv8 model, a state-of-the-art CNN architecture, we applied a Contrast Stretching technique prior to model training in order to enhance disease detection accuracy. This approach not only improves the model's diagnostic capabilities but also offers a scalable tool for monitoring and treating <i>poplar</i> diseases, thereby supporting the health and sustainability of these critical resources. This dataset, to our knowledge, will be the first of its kind to be publicly available, offering a valuable resource for researchers and practitioners worldwide.