Machine Vision And Machine Learning For Plant Phenotyping And Precision Agriculture

Plant phenotyping (PP) describes the physiological and biochemical properties of plants affected by both genotypes and environments. It is an emerging research field that is assisting the breeding and cultivation of new crop varieties to be more productive and resilient to challenging environments. Precision agriculture (PA) uses sensing technologies to observe crops and then manage them optimally to ensure that they grow in healthy conditions, have maximum productivity, and have minimal negative effects on the environment. Traditionally, the observation of plant traits heavily relies on human experts which is labor intensive, time-consuming, and subjective. Automatic crop traits measurement in PP and PA are two different fields, but they share the same sensing and data processing technologies in many respects. Recently, driven by computer and sensor technologies, machine vision (MV) and machine learning (ML) have contributed to accurate, high-throughput, and nondestructive plant phenotyping and precision agriculture. However, these technologies are still in their infant stage and there are many challenges and questions related to them that still need to be addressed. The goal of this Research Topic is to provide a platform to share the latest research results on the application of MV and ML for PP and PA. It aims to highlight cutting-edge technologies, bottle-necks, and future research directions for MV and ML in crop breeding, crop cultivation, disease management, weed control, and pest control.

This book discusses computer vision, a noncontact as well as a nondestructive technique involving the development of theoretical and algorithmic tools for automatic visual understanding and recognition which finds huge applications in agricultural productions. It also entails how rendering of machine learning techniques to computer vision algorithms is boosting this sector with better productivity by developing more precise systems. Computer vision and machine learning (CV-ML) helps in plant disease assessment along with crop condition monitoring to control the degradation of yield, quality, and severe financial loss for farmers. Significant scientific and technological advances have been made in defect assessment, quality grading, disease recognition, pests, insects, fruits, and vegetable types recognition and evaluation of a wide range of agricultural plants, crops, leaves, and fruits. The book discusses intelligent robots developed with the touch of CV-ML which can help farmers to perform various tasks like planting, weeding, harvesting, plant health monitoring, and so on. The topics covered in the book include plant, leaf, and fruit disease detection, crop health monitoring, applications of robots in agriculture, precision farming, assessment of product quality and defects, pest, insect, fruits, and vegetable types recognition.

This book is as an extension of the previous two volumes on “Computer Vision and Machine Learning in Agriculture”. This volume 3 discusses solutions to the problems of agricultural production by rendering advanced machine learning including deep learning tools and techniques. The book contains 13 chapters that focus on in-depth research outputs in precision agriculture, crop farming, horticulture, floriculture, vertical farming, animal husbandry, disease detection, plant recognition, production yield, product quality, defect assessment, and overall automation through robots and drones. The topics covered in the current volume, along with the previous volumes, are comprehensive literature for both beginners and experienced in this domain.

This book provides an overview of the innovations in crop phenotyping using emerging technologies, i.e., high-throughput crop phenotyping technology, including its concept, importance, breakthrough and applications in different crops and environments. Emerging technologies in sensing, machine vision and high-performance computing are changing the world beyond our imagination. They are also becoming the most powerful driver of the innovation in agriculture technology, including crop breeding, genetics and management. It includes the state of the art of technologies in high-throughput phenotyping, including advanced sensors, automation systems, ground-based or aerial robotic systems. It also discusses the emerging technologies of big data processing and analytics, such as advanced machine learning and deep learning technologies based on high-performance computing infrastructure. The applications cover different organ levels (root, shoot and seed) of different crops (grains, soybean, maize, potato) at different growth environments (open field and controlled environments). With the contribution of more than 20 world-leading researchers in high-throughput crop phenotyping, the authors hope this book provides readers the needed information to understand the concept, gain the insides and create the innovation of high-throughput phenotyping technology.

Domesticated crops are the result of artificial selection for particular phenotypes or, in some cases, natural selection for an adaptive trait. Plant traits can be identified through image-based plant phenotyping, a process that was, until recently, strenous and time-consuming. Intelligent Image Analysis for Plant Phenotyping reviews information on time-saving techniques, using computer vision and imaging technologies. These methodologies provide an automated, non-invasive, and scalable mechanism by which to define and collect plant phenotypes. Beautifully illustrated, with numerous color images, the book focuses on phenotypes measured from individual plants under controlled experimental conditions, which are widely available in high-throughput systems. Features: Presents methodologies for image processing, including data-driven and machine learning techniques for plant phenotyping. Features information on advanced techniques for extracting phenotypes through images and image sequences captured in a variety of modalities. Includes real-world scientific problems, including predicting yield by modeling interactions between plant data and environmental information. Discusses the challenge of translating images into biologically informative quantitative phenotypes. A practical resource for students, researchers, and practitioners, this book is invaluable for those working in the emerging fields at the intersection of computer vision and plant sciences.