Drone Images Detect Two Tomato Diseases With 99% Accuracy

New technology being developed by University of Florida scientists identifies two dangerous tomato diseases with 99 percent accuracy. This finding is critical because diseases can cost growers millions of dollars annually in the state’s third most valuable crop. Thus, the earlier farmers detect those ailments, the better their chances of treating them before the diseases cause excessive damage.

Normally, growers walk through their fields and look at their crops to try to find and identify the types of diseases that have befallen their crops. Sometimes disease identification requires expertise that the farmer may lack.

To help tomato growers – and perhaps eventually other farmers – find diseases early and accurately, two UF/IFAS researchers used images from drone technology to see if they could distinguish between two perilous tomato diseases. “Rapid and accurate identification of a plant pathogen is essential for implementing timely disease management tactics,” said Pamela Roberts, a UF/IFAS plant pathology professor.

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