Automating the Diagnosis of Cucumber Plant Diseases Using Machine Learning

Farmers all over the world struggle to fight plant diseases. However, the incorrect use of pesticides can waste time, effort, and money and can also be very harmful to the environment and human health. In this work, we present an empirical study that involves identifying two pathogens related to Cucumbers plant diseases: Powdery Mildew and Alternaria Cucumerina. The study aims to develop a computer-based solution based on deep learning and machine learning algorithms to detect these diseases. To achieve this, a dataset of hundreds of samples was collected from ordinary farms in Beqaa, an agricultural region 15 KM north of Amman, Jordan. Three machine learning models were created in this study using Support Vector Machines (SVM), Logistic Regression (LR), and Multi-layer perceptron algorithms. The constructed models were applied to the dataset after embedding the dataset images using the Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) InceptionV3 pre-trained model. The model was tested and evaluated using cross-evaluation and F1-Score, CA, AUC, Precision, Recall, and Specificity, which all showed excellent results, particularly using the SVM algorithm. The constructed methods are intended to be deployed to farms in their field condition environments using a CCTV system that can capture images of plants during growth, which can help identify plant diseases at that right stage, which would save time, effort, and money and reduce the impact of wrong and overuse of pesticides on consumers and the environment.