Leveraging the internet of things and optimized deep residual networks for improved foliar disease detection in apple orchards

Plant diseases significantly threaten food security by reducing the quantity and quality of agricultural products. This paper presents a deep learning approach for classifying foliar diseases in apple plants using the Tunicate Swarm Sine Cosine Algorithm-based Deep Residual Network (TSSCA-based DRN). Cluster heads in simulated Internet of Things (IoT) networks are selected by Fractional Lion Optimization (FLION), and images are pre-processed with a Gaussian filter and segmented using the DeepJoint model. The TSSCA, combining the Tunicate Swarm Algorithm (TSA) and Sine Cosine Algorithm (SCA), enhances the classifier's effectiveness. Moreover, Plant Pathology 2020 - FGVC7 dataset is used in this work. This dataset is designed for the classification of foliar diseases in apple trees. The TSSCA-based DRN outperforms other methods, achieving 97% accuracy, 94.666% specificity, 96.888% sensitivity, and 0.0442J maximal energy, with significant improvements over existing approaches. Additionally, the proposed model demonstrates superior accuracy, outperforming other methods by 8.97%, 6.58%, 2.07%, 1.71%, 1.14%, 1.07%, 0.93%, and 0.64% over Multidimensional Feature Compensation Residual neural network (MDFC - ResNet), Convolutional Neural Network (CNN), Multi-Context Fusion Network (MCFN), Advanced Segmented Dimension Extraction (ASDE), and DRN, fuzzy deep convolutional neural network (FCDCNN), ResNet9-SE, Capsule Neural Network (CapsNet), IoT-based scrutinizing model, and Multi-Model Fusion Network (MMF-Net).