Review: A review of advanced techniques for detecting plant diseases

  • Authors:

  • Sindhuja Sankaran;Ashish Mishra;Reza Ehsani;Cristina Davis

  • Affiliations:

  • Citrus Research and Education Center, University of Florida, 700 Experiment Station Road, Lake Alfred, FL 33850, United States;Citrus Research and Education Center, University of Florida, 700 Experiment Station Road, Lake Alfred, FL 33850, United States;Citrus Research and Education Center, University of Florida, 700 Experiment Station Road, Lake Alfred, FL 33850, United States;Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of California, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, United States

  • Venue:
  • Computers and Electronics in Agriculture
  • Year:
  • 2010

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Abstract

Diseases in plants cause major production and economic losses in agricultural industry worldwide. Monitoring of health and detection of diseases in plants and trees is critical for sustainable agriculture. To the best of our knowledge, there is no sensor commercially available for real-time assessment of health conditions in trees. Currently, scouting is most widely used mechanism for monitoring stress in trees, which is an expensive, labor-intensive, and time-consuming process. Molecular techniques such as polymerase chain reaction are used for the identification of plant diseases that require detailed sampling and processing procedure. Early information on crop health and disease detection can facilitate the control of diseases through proper management strategies such as vector control through pesticide applications, fungicide applications, and disease-specific chemical applications; and can improve productivity. The present review recognizes the need for developing a rapid, cost-effective, and reliable health-monitoring sensor that would facilitate advancements in agriculture. It describes the currently used technologies that can be used for developing a ground-based sensor system to assist in monitoring health and diseases in plants under field conditions. These technologies include spectroscopic and imaging-based, and volatile profiling-based plant disease detection methods. The paper compares the benefits and limitations of these potential methods.