PD-YOLO: a novel weed detection method based on multi-scale feature fusion

IntroductionThe deployment of robots for automated weeding holds significant promise in promoting sustainable agriculture and reducing labor requirements, with vision based detection being crucial for accurate weed identification. However, weed detection through computer vision presents various chal...

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Main Authors: Shengzhou Li, Zihan Chen, Jialong Xie, Hewei Zhang, Jianwen Guo
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-04-01
Series:Frontiers in Plant Science
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Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2025.1506524/full
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author Shengzhou Li
Zihan Chen
Jialong Xie
Hewei Zhang
Jianwen Guo
author_facet Shengzhou Li
Zihan Chen
Jialong Xie
Hewei Zhang
Jianwen Guo
author_sort Shengzhou Li
collection DOAJ
description IntroductionThe deployment of robots for automated weeding holds significant promise in promoting sustainable agriculture and reducing labor requirements, with vision based detection being crucial for accurate weed identification. However, weed detection through computer vision presents various challenges, such as morphological similarities between weeds and crops, large-scale variations, occlusions, and the small size of the target objects.MethodsTo overcome these challenges, this paper proposes a novel object detection model, PD-YOLO, based on multi-scale feature fusion. Building on the YOLOv8n framework, the model introduces a Parallel Focusing Feature Pyramid (PF-FPN), which incorporates two key components: the Feature Filtering and Aggregation Module (FFAM) and the Hierarchical Adaptive Recalibration Fusion Module (HARFM). These modules facilitate efficient feature fusion both laterally and radially across the network. Furthermore, the inclusion of a dynamic detection head (Dyhead) significantly enhances the model’s capacity to detect and locate weeds in complex environments.Results and discussionExperimental results on two public weed datasets demonstrate the superior performance of PD-YOLO over state-the-art models, with a modest increase in computational cost. PD-YOLO improves the mean average precision (mAP) by 1.7% and 1.8% on the CottonWeedDet12 dataset at thresholds of 0.5 and 0.5-0.95, respectively. This research not only presents an efficient and accurate weed detection method but also offers new insights and technological advances for automated weed detection in agriculture.
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issn 1664-462X
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publishDate 2025-04-01
publisher Frontiers Media S.A.
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spelling doaj-art-8db5ff248b764e0a8ac368cc3556a2c62025-08-20T03:17:43ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Plant Science1664-462X2025-04-011610.3389/fpls.2025.15065241506524PD-YOLO: a novel weed detection method based on multi-scale feature fusionShengzhou LiZihan ChenJialong XieHewei ZhangJianwen GuoIntroductionThe deployment of robots for automated weeding holds significant promise in promoting sustainable agriculture and reducing labor requirements, with vision based detection being crucial for accurate weed identification. However, weed detection through computer vision presents various challenges, such as morphological similarities between weeds and crops, large-scale variations, occlusions, and the small size of the target objects.MethodsTo overcome these challenges, this paper proposes a novel object detection model, PD-YOLO, based on multi-scale feature fusion. Building on the YOLOv8n framework, the model introduces a Parallel Focusing Feature Pyramid (PF-FPN), which incorporates two key components: the Feature Filtering and Aggregation Module (FFAM) and the Hierarchical Adaptive Recalibration Fusion Module (HARFM). These modules facilitate efficient feature fusion both laterally and radially across the network. Furthermore, the inclusion of a dynamic detection head (Dyhead) significantly enhances the model’s capacity to detect and locate weeds in complex environments.Results and discussionExperimental results on two public weed datasets demonstrate the superior performance of PD-YOLO over state-the-art models, with a modest increase in computational cost. PD-YOLO improves the mean average precision (mAP) by 1.7% and 1.8% on the CottonWeedDet12 dataset at thresholds of 0.5 and 0.5-0.95, respectively. This research not only presents an efficient and accurate weed detection method but also offers new insights and technological advances for automated weed detection in agriculture.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2025.1506524/fullweed detectionobject detectionYOLOmulti-scale feature fusiondynamic detection head
spellingShingle Shengzhou Li
Zihan Chen
Jialong Xie
Hewei Zhang
Jianwen Guo
PD-YOLO: a novel weed detection method based on multi-scale feature fusion
Frontiers in Plant Science
weed detection
object detection
YOLO
multi-scale feature fusion
dynamic detection head
title PD-YOLO: a novel weed detection method based on multi-scale feature fusion
title_full PD-YOLO: a novel weed detection method based on multi-scale feature fusion
title_fullStr PD-YOLO: a novel weed detection method based on multi-scale feature fusion
title_full_unstemmed PD-YOLO: a novel weed detection method based on multi-scale feature fusion
title_short PD-YOLO: a novel weed detection method based on multi-scale feature fusion
title_sort pd yolo a novel weed detection method based on multi scale feature fusion
topic weed detection
object detection
YOLO
multi-scale feature fusion
dynamic detection head
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2025.1506524/full
work_keys_str_mv AT shengzhouli pdyoloanovelweeddetectionmethodbasedonmultiscalefeaturefusion
AT zihanchen pdyoloanovelweeddetectionmethodbasedonmultiscalefeaturefusion
AT jialongxie pdyoloanovelweeddetectionmethodbasedonmultiscalefeaturefusion
AT heweizhang pdyoloanovelweeddetectionmethodbasedonmultiscalefeaturefusion
AT jianwenguo pdyoloanovelweeddetectionmethodbasedonmultiscalefeaturefusion