RiceLeafClassifier‐v1.0: A Quantized Deep Learning Model for Automated Rice Leaf Disease Detection and Edge Deployment

ABSTRACT Rice diseases critically threaten global food security, necessitating rapid, accurate detection methods. This study presents RiceLeafClassifier‐v1.0, a lightweight quantized convolutional neural network (CNN) that classifies five rice leaf conditions: blast, bacterial blight, brown spot, he...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Oluwaseun O. Martins, Christiaan C. Oosthuizen, Dawood A. Desai
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2025-06-01
Series:Engineering Reports
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1002/eng2.70231
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849432845527810048
author Oluwaseun O. Martins
Christiaan C. Oosthuizen
Dawood A. Desai
author_facet Oluwaseun O. Martins
Christiaan C. Oosthuizen
Dawood A. Desai
author_sort Oluwaseun O. Martins
collection DOAJ
description ABSTRACT Rice diseases critically threaten global food security, necessitating rapid, accurate detection methods. This study presents RiceLeafClassifier‐v1.0, a lightweight quantized convolutional neural network (CNN) that classifies five rice leaf conditions: blast, bacterial blight, brown spot, healthy, and red stripe, with high accuracy and real‐time performance. To improve generalization, the model was trained on 2807 images, 1144 field‐collected and 1663 public. Training enhancements included data augmentation, dropout, dynamic learning rate scheduling, and early stopping. Unlike previous transfer learning approaches, RiceLeafClassifier‐v1.0 was built from scratch to retain fine visual features while remaining efficient. Quantization reduced model size from 78.03 to 6.51 MB, enabling deployment on edge devices like the Raspberry Pi 4. Statistical validation (p < 0.05) confirmed that RiceLeafClassifier‐v1.0 outperforms VGG‐16, VGG‐19, and ResNet‐50, achieving a classification accuracy of 92% compared to 49% (VGG‐16), 48% (VGG‐19), and 44% (ResNet‐50). Post‐training quantization further improved accuracy from 92% to 94% (p = 0.0165) while reducing memory usage by 68% (from 82.14 to 26.24 MB, p < 0.0001). Additionally, inference time per image was significantly lower at 2.28 ± 0.35 s for the quantized model compared to 0.01 ± 0.01 s for the standard model (p < 0.0001), demonstrating substantial gains in efficiency. Despite some limitations, including dataset bias and sensitivity to extreme conditions, the model shows very strong and highly promising potential for real‐time disease monitoring in precision agriculture. Future work will expand the dataset, adopt advanced optimization techniques, and integrate IoT systems to support smallholder farmers in reducing crop losses and boosting food security.
format Article
id doaj-art-13f12b379ca64f91ad7486b7252c4cb7
institution Kabale University
issn 2577-8196
language English
publishDate 2025-06-01
publisher Wiley
record_format Article
series Engineering Reports
spelling doaj-art-13f12b379ca64f91ad7486b7252c4cb72025-08-20T03:27:15ZengWileyEngineering Reports2577-81962025-06-0176n/an/a10.1002/eng2.70231RiceLeafClassifier‐v1.0: A Quantized Deep Learning Model for Automated Rice Leaf Disease Detection and Edge DeploymentOluwaseun O. Martins0Christiaan C. Oosthuizen1Dawood A. Desai2Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment Tshwane University of Technology Pretoria South AfricaDepartment of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment Tshwane University of Technology Pretoria South AfricaDepartment of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment Tshwane University of Technology Pretoria South AfricaABSTRACT Rice diseases critically threaten global food security, necessitating rapid, accurate detection methods. This study presents RiceLeafClassifier‐v1.0, a lightweight quantized convolutional neural network (CNN) that classifies five rice leaf conditions: blast, bacterial blight, brown spot, healthy, and red stripe, with high accuracy and real‐time performance. To improve generalization, the model was trained on 2807 images, 1144 field‐collected and 1663 public. Training enhancements included data augmentation, dropout, dynamic learning rate scheduling, and early stopping. Unlike previous transfer learning approaches, RiceLeafClassifier‐v1.0 was built from scratch to retain fine visual features while remaining efficient. Quantization reduced model size from 78.03 to 6.51 MB, enabling deployment on edge devices like the Raspberry Pi 4. Statistical validation (p < 0.05) confirmed that RiceLeafClassifier‐v1.0 outperforms VGG‐16, VGG‐19, and ResNet‐50, achieving a classification accuracy of 92% compared to 49% (VGG‐16), 48% (VGG‐19), and 44% (ResNet‐50). Post‐training quantization further improved accuracy from 92% to 94% (p = 0.0165) while reducing memory usage by 68% (from 82.14 to 26.24 MB, p < 0.0001). Additionally, inference time per image was significantly lower at 2.28 ± 0.35 s for the quantized model compared to 0.01 ± 0.01 s for the standard model (p < 0.0001), demonstrating substantial gains in efficiency. Despite some limitations, including dataset bias and sensitivity to extreme conditions, the model shows very strong and highly promising potential for real‐time disease monitoring in precision agriculture. Future work will expand the dataset, adopt advanced optimization techniques, and integrate IoT systems to support smallholder farmers in reducing crop losses and boosting food security.https://doi.org/10.1002/eng2.70231convolutional neural networksdeep learningedge AIrice leaf disease detectionRiceLeafClassifier‐v1.0smart agriculture
spellingShingle Oluwaseun O. Martins
Christiaan C. Oosthuizen
Dawood A. Desai
RiceLeafClassifier‐v1.0: A Quantized Deep Learning Model for Automated Rice Leaf Disease Detection and Edge Deployment
Engineering Reports
convolutional neural networks
deep learning
edge AI
rice leaf disease detection
RiceLeafClassifier‐v1.0
smart agriculture
title RiceLeafClassifier‐v1.0: A Quantized Deep Learning Model for Automated Rice Leaf Disease Detection and Edge Deployment
title_full RiceLeafClassifier‐v1.0: A Quantized Deep Learning Model for Automated Rice Leaf Disease Detection and Edge Deployment
title_fullStr RiceLeafClassifier‐v1.0: A Quantized Deep Learning Model for Automated Rice Leaf Disease Detection and Edge Deployment
title_full_unstemmed RiceLeafClassifier‐v1.0: A Quantized Deep Learning Model for Automated Rice Leaf Disease Detection and Edge Deployment
title_short RiceLeafClassifier‐v1.0: A Quantized Deep Learning Model for Automated Rice Leaf Disease Detection and Edge Deployment
title_sort riceleafclassifier v1 0 a quantized deep learning model for automated rice leaf disease detection and edge deployment
topic convolutional neural networks
deep learning
edge AI
rice leaf disease detection
RiceLeafClassifier‐v1.0
smart agriculture
url https://doi.org/10.1002/eng2.70231
work_keys_str_mv AT oluwaseunomartins riceleafclassifierv10aquantizeddeeplearningmodelforautomatedriceleafdiseasedetectionandedgedeployment
AT christiaancoosthuizen riceleafclassifierv10aquantizeddeeplearningmodelforautomatedriceleafdiseasedetectionandedgedeployment
AT dawoodadesai riceleafclassifierv10aquantizeddeeplearningmodelforautomatedriceleafdiseasedetectionandedgedeployment