Adaptive Feature-Based Plant Recognition

In this article, we propose a new algorithm to improve plant recognition through the use of feature descriptors. The accurate results from this identification method are essential for enabling autonomous tasks, such as stem-stake coupling, in precision agriculture. The proposed method divides the input seedling color image into subimages within the International Commission on Illumination, for three color axes, L for lightness, A for the green-red component, and B for the blue-yellow component, color space and extracts seven key feature descriptors for each subimage. It then uses feature descriptors to create a matrix, which is employed to train an artificial neural network to determine optimized cutoff values. This network suggests cutoff values for a multilevel threshold segmentation for plant recognition. The method provides robust and real-time adaptive segmentation adaptable to various seedlings, backgrounds, and lighting conditions. By enabling accurate segmentation of the plant, morphological image processing can more effectively eliminate leaves to locate the seedling stem. This methodology automates image analysis in seedling propagation facilities and greenhouses and enables a wide range of precision agricultural tasks.