Identification of leaf diseases in pepper plants using soft computing techniques

Images convey relevant data and information in biological sciences. Digital image processing and the image analysis technology have a vital role in biology and agricultural sectors. Automatic detection of plant diseases and cultivation of healthy plants is of great importance and agricultural automation.[1] The case of a plant, the term disease is defined as any impairment happening to the normal physiological function, producing characteristic symptoms. The studies of plant diseases refer to studying the visually observable patterns of a particular plant. The identification of plants, leaves, stems and finding out the pests or diseases, or its percentage is found very effective in the successful cultivation of crops. The naked eye observation is the approach adopted by many of the farmers for the detection and identification of plant diseases. It requires continuous monitoring and found less useful on large farms. Also, the farmers are unaware of non-native diseases. [1,2] With the aid of imaging technology the plant disease detection systems automatically detect the symptoms that appear on the leaves and stem of a plant and helps in cultivating healthy plants in a farm. These systems monitor the plant such as leaves and stem and any variation observed from its characteristic features, variation will be automatically identified and also will be informed to the user. This paper provides an evaluative study on the existing disease detection systems in plants.