Analysis of crop disease and pest occurrences: Insights from Japan's national surveys.

Accurate forecasting of crop diseases and pests (CDPs) is crucial for ensuring food security. In Japan, nationwide CDP field surveys have been conducted for over half a century at an annual cost of approximately 300 million JPY, with the primary goals of predicting CDP outbreaks and estimating withi...

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Main Authors: Jianqiang Sun, Sunao Ochi, Takehiko Yamanaka
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2025-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0322579
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author Jianqiang Sun
Sunao Ochi
Takehiko Yamanaka
author_facet Jianqiang Sun
Sunao Ochi
Takehiko Yamanaka
author_sort Jianqiang Sun
collection DOAJ
description Accurate forecasting of crop diseases and pests (CDPs) is crucial for ensuring food security. In Japan, nationwide CDP field surveys have been conducted for over half a century at an annual cost of approximately 300 million JPY, with the primary goals of predicting CDP outbreaks and estimating within-year damages. Despite the magnitude of these efforts, the collected data remain underutilized. Therefore, this study aimed to contribute to the advancement of this field by evaluating the potential of leveraging historical Japanese CDP survey data to forecast CDP occurrences. Through comprehensive analysis and statistical modeling, we found that a simple algorithm-averaging data from the past five years without incorporating seasonal trends or meteorological variables-outperformed more complex models, underscoring the value of historical CDP survey data. However, the prediction error remained substantial, with an RMSE of 6.2 ± 19.6. Notably, as 70.1% of the CDP survey data recorded values of five or less, an error of 6.2 indicates poor predictive accuracy in most cases. Given the challenges of precise forecasting, the high cost of nationwide surveys, and Japan's lowest self-sufficiency rate, fundamental reforms are needed. Integrating modern technologies, including IoT/ICT and artificial intelligence, could enhance the sustainability of CDP survey, ultimately safeguarding food security.
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spelling doaj-art-3221d1c682bf425fb1c4ff26db49116d2025-08-20T02:12:45ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032025-01-01204e032257910.1371/journal.pone.0322579Analysis of crop disease and pest occurrences: Insights from Japan's national surveys.Jianqiang SunSunao OchiTakehiko YamanakaAccurate forecasting of crop diseases and pests (CDPs) is crucial for ensuring food security. In Japan, nationwide CDP field surveys have been conducted for over half a century at an annual cost of approximately 300 million JPY, with the primary goals of predicting CDP outbreaks and estimating within-year damages. Despite the magnitude of these efforts, the collected data remain underutilized. Therefore, this study aimed to contribute to the advancement of this field by evaluating the potential of leveraging historical Japanese CDP survey data to forecast CDP occurrences. Through comprehensive analysis and statistical modeling, we found that a simple algorithm-averaging data from the past five years without incorporating seasonal trends or meteorological variables-outperformed more complex models, underscoring the value of historical CDP survey data. However, the prediction error remained substantial, with an RMSE of 6.2 ± 19.6. Notably, as 70.1% of the CDP survey data recorded values of five or less, an error of 6.2 indicates poor predictive accuracy in most cases. Given the challenges of precise forecasting, the high cost of nationwide surveys, and Japan's lowest self-sufficiency rate, fundamental reforms are needed. Integrating modern technologies, including IoT/ICT and artificial intelligence, could enhance the sustainability of CDP survey, ultimately safeguarding food security.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0322579
spellingShingle Jianqiang Sun
Sunao Ochi
Takehiko Yamanaka
Analysis of crop disease and pest occurrences: Insights from Japan's national surveys.
PLoS ONE
title Analysis of crop disease and pest occurrences: Insights from Japan's national surveys.
title_full Analysis of crop disease and pest occurrences: Insights from Japan's national surveys.
title_fullStr Analysis of crop disease and pest occurrences: Insights from Japan's national surveys.
title_full_unstemmed Analysis of crop disease and pest occurrences: Insights from Japan's national surveys.
title_short Analysis of crop disease and pest occurrences: Insights from Japan's national surveys.
title_sort analysis of crop disease and pest occurrences insights from japan s national surveys
url https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0322579
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