Strawberry disease detection using transfer learning of deep convolutional neural networks

The impact of disease on strawberry quality and yield holds considerable significance, prompting researchers to explore effective methodologies for disease detection in strawberries. Among these, deep learning has emerged as a pivotal approach. In this regard, this research explored the utilization of transfer learning in deep convolutional neural networks (CNNs) to identify various strawberry diseases. Specifically, we utilized models pre-trained on the ImageNet dataset, namely VGG19, Inception V3, ResNet50, and DenseNet121 architectures, employing both fine-tuning and feature extraction techniques of transfer learning and consequently compared to the models without transfer learning. The target diseases for identification included angular leaf spot, anthracnose, gray mold, and powdery mildew on both fruit and leaves. The study outcomes revealed that Resnet-50 consistently achieved the highest accuracy across all three configurations, achieving its peak accuracy at 94.4 %, followed by Densenet-121 with an accuracy of 94.1 % attained through fine-tuning. These results highlighted the superior performance of fine-tuned models over using these models solely as feature extractors for identifying strawberry diseases. Furthermore, this study revealed that the application of transfer learning substantially reduced training time and resulted in a lower count of trainable parameters than models trained without transfer learning. These outcomes strongly endorse the practicality and effectiveness of employing transfer learning techniques for precise strawberry disease identification. Additionally, further research can explore the application of transfer learning to a broader range of crops and diseases, potentially enhancing agricultural disease detection methodologies.