Efficient identification and classification of apple leaf diseases using lightweight vision transformer (ViT)

Dual discriminator GAN-based synthetic crop disease image generation for precise crop disease identification

Deep learning-based computer vision technology significantly improves the accuracy and efficiency of crop disease detection. However, the scarcity of crop disease images leads to insufficient training data, limiting the accuracy of disease recognition and the generalization ability of deep learning models. Therefore, increasing the number and diversity of high-quality disease images is crucial for enhancing disease monitoring performance. We design a frequency-domain and wavelet image augmentation network with a dual discriminator structure (FHWD). The first discriminator distinguishes between real and generated images, while the second high-frequency discriminator is specifically used to distinguish between the high-frequency components of both. High-frequency details play a crucial role in the sharpness, texture, and fine-grained structures of an image, which are essential for realistic image generation. During training, we combine the proposed wavelet loss and Fast Fourier Transform loss functions. These loss functions guide the model to focus on image details through multi-band constraints and frequency domain transformation, improving the authenticity of lesions and textures, thereby enhancing the visual quality of the generated images. We compare the generation performance of different models on ten crop diseases from the PlantVillage dataset. The experimental results show that the images generated by FHWD contain more realistic leaf disease lesions, with higher image quality that better aligns with human visual perception. Additionally, in classification tasks involving nine types of tomato leaf diseases from the PlantVillage dataset, FHWD-enhanced data improve classification accuracy by an average of 7.25% for VGG16, GoogleNet, and ResNet18 models.Our results show that FHWD is an effective image augmentation tool that effectively addresses the scarcity of crop disease images and provides more diverse and enriched training data for disease recognition models.

AppleLeafNet: a lightweight and efficient deep learning framework for diagnosing apple leaf diseases

Accurately identifying apple diseases is essential to control their spread and support the industry. Timely and precise detection is crucial for managing the spread of diseases, thereby improving the production and quality of apples. However, the development of algorithms for analyzing complex leaf images remains a significant challenge. Therefore, in this study, a lightweight deep learning model is designed from scratch to identify the apple leaf condition. The developed framework comprises two stages. First, the designed 37-layer model was employed to assess the condition of apple leaves (healthy or diseased). Second, transfer learning was used for further subclassification of the disease class (e.g., rust, complex, scab, and frogeye leaf spots). The trained lightweight model was reused because the model trained with correlated images facilitated transfer learning for further classification of the disease class. A dataset available online was used to validate the proposed two-stage framework, resulting in a classification rate of 98.25% for apple leaf condition identification and an accuracy of 98.60% for apple leaf disease diagnosis. Furthermore, the results confirm that the proposed model is lightweight and involves relatively fewer learnable parameters in comparison with other pre-trained deep learning models.