A HYBRID INTELLIGENT SYSTEM FOR AUTOMATED POMEGRANATE DISEASE DETECTION AND GRADING

This paper proposes an image processing methodology to address one of the core issues of plant pathology i.e. disease identification and its grading. The proposed system is an efficient module that identifies various diseases of pomegranate plant and also determines the stage in which the disease is. The system employs various image processing and machine learning techniques. At first, the captured images are processed for enhancement. Then image segmentation is carried out to get target regions (disease spots). Later, image features such as shape, color and texture are extracted for the disease spots. These resultant features are then given as input to disease classifier to appropriately identify and grade the diseases. Finally, based on the stage of the disease, the treatment advisory module can be prepared by seeking agricultural experts, there by helping the farmers. KeywordsImage processing, soft computing, machine learning, disease classification, disease grading. INTRODUCTION Sole area that serves the food needs of the entire human race is the Agriculture sector. Research in agriculture is aimed towards increase of productivity and food quality at reduced expenditure and with increased profit [1]. In the past few years new trends have emerged in the agricultural sector. Due to the manifestation and developments in the fields of sensor networks, robotics, GPS technology, communication systems etc, precision agriculture started emerging [2]. Precision agriculture concentrates on providing the means for observing, assessing and controlling agricultural practices. It also takes into account the preand post-production aspects of agricultural enterprises. The objectives of precision agriculture are profit maximization, agricultural input rationalization and environmental damage reduction, by adjusting the agricultural practices to the site demands. The challenge of the precision approach is to equip the farmer with adequate and affordable information and control technology. Plant disease is one of the crucial causes that reduces quantity and degrades quality of the agricultural products. Disease is impairment to the normal state of the plant that modifies or interrupts its vital functions such as photosynthesis, transpiration, pollination, fertilization, germination A hybrid intelligent system for automated pomegranate disease detection and grading 37 International Journal of Machine Intelligence ISSN: 0975–2927 & E-ISSN: 0975–9166, Volume 3, Issue 2, 2011 etc. The emergence of plant diseases has become more common now a days, as factors such as climate and environmental conditions are more unsettled than ever [2]. Plant diseases are usually caused by fungi, bacteria and viruses. Also there are other diseases which are caused by adverse environmental conditions. There are numerous characteristics and behaviors of such plant diseases in which many of them are merely distinguishable. The ability of disease diagnosis in earlier stage is an important task. Hence an intelligent decision support system for Prevention and Control of plant diseases is needed. This system uses some high-tech and practical technology, such as fuzzy logic, neural networks, support vector machines and such other soft computing techniques to appropriately detect and diagnose the plant diseases. Technological advancement is gradually finding its applications in the field of agriculture [3]. The information and communication technology (ICT) application is going to be implemented as a solution in improving the status of the agricultural sector [4]. The idea of integrating ICT with agriculture sector motivates the development of an automated system for pomegranate disease classification and its grading. Pomegranate (Punica granatum),so called “fruit of paradise” is one of the major fruit crops of arid region. It is Popular in Eastern as well as Western parts of the world. The fruit is grown for its attractive, juicy, sweet-acidic and fully luscious grains called ‘Arils’ [6]. The fruits are mainly used for dessert purposes. In India it is cultivated over the area of about 63,000 ha, and its production is about 5 lakh tons/annum. Important varieties cultivated are Ganesh, Dholka, Seedless(Bedana), Bhagwa, Araktha. Fig. (1) shows three varieties of pomegranate fruit. (a)Bhagva (b)ganesh (C)Araktha Fig1Varieties of pomegranate Based on size and color, pomegranate fruits are graded as follows: Super sizein which fruits are free from spots and individual fruit weight is more than750grams. King size inwhich fruits are attractive and individual fruit weight is 500-700 grams. Queen sizein which fruits are attractive, red and individual fruit weight is 400-500 grams. Prince sizein which fruits are attractive, red and individual fruit weight is 300-400 grams. Unfortunately there are no organized marketing systems for pomegranate. Usually farmers dispose their produce to contractors who will later transport to far off markets. There is scope for exporting Indian pomegranates to Bangladesh, Bahrain, Canada, Germany, United Kingdom, Japan, Kuwait, Sri Lanka, Omen, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Switzerland, U.A.E. and U.S.A. Diseases and insect pests are the major problems that threaten pomegranate cultivation. These require careful diagnosis and timely handling to protect the crops from heavy losses [6]. In pomegranate plant, diseases can be found in various parts such as fruit, stem and leaves. Major diseases that affect pomegranate fruit are bacterial blight (Xanthomonas axonopodis pv punicae), antracnose (Colletotrichum gloeosporoides) and wilt complex (ceratocystis fimbriata). Image samples of these diseases are shown in Fig. (2). (a)Wilt complex (b)Anthracnose (c)Scab (d)Bacterial blight on fruit Sannakki SS, Rajpurohit VS, Nargund VB, Arun Kumar R, Yallur PS