Deep Learning Applications for Detecting Crop Diseases from Image Data

In order to optimize the productivity of crops and ensure food security the crop diseases should be identified as soon as possible. In this study, we study the image based crop disease identification using Deep Learning Methods. However, the traditional illnesses detection techniques are typically based on specialist knowledge and human inspection, and the latter also has the disadvantages of being very time consuming and error prone. Use of convolutional neural networks (CNNs), in particular, have made deep learning powerful for many imaging problems such as precise and automated identification of disease. The ultimate goal of this research is to build a CNN based model which, through the analysis of photos of a damaged leaf, can identify and categorize various crop diseases. With this large data set with excellent images of both healthy and sick crops, we take advantage of. The model is trained and tested based on F1 scores, accuracy, precision and recall. The findings indicate that the model proposed in this research outperforms generic machine learning techniques in diagnosing diseases such as rust, mildew, and blight at high accuracy. The real time implementation of the system is also scalable enough to monitor big areas in the smart farming set up. I show in this study that deep learning has the potential to significantly enhance agricultural disease management and to pave the way to new and more effective and sustainable ways to grow crops.