Florida, the third-largest celery-producing state in the United States after California and Michigan, is testing drone and artificial intelligence technology to improve early detection of early blight disease in winter celery crops. The work is being carried out by researchers from the University of Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences.
Florida's celery production is concentrated in the Everglades Agricultural Area, where the crop plays an important role during the winter months. "We are especially important because we produce celery during the winter months when the Northern States are under snow," said Katia Xavier, a plant pathologist with UF/IFAS Everglades.
The research team is using specialised drones that capture high-resolution images of celery fields. These images are combined with artificial intelligence to develop a model capable of identifying early signs of disease. "We can actually teach, 'Oh, this is the disease we want you to detect,'" Xavier said. The drones were received last week through support from two research grants.
According to Xavier, the project focuses on comparing images of healthy and infected celery plants to train the model to recognise disease patterns that are not visible to the human eye. Researchers will monitor crops weekly as part of this process.
Currently, disease detection relies mainly on visual field inspections. "When you see that, the symptoms, you've already lost three-quarters to two-thirds of your roots," said Thomas A. Thayer, owner of Southern Citrus Nursery and T2Groves in Polk County. Early identification of nutrient blockage linked to disease could allow targeted treatment and limit yield losses.
Florida produces around 1,500 acres, or approximately 607 hectares, of celery. One objective of the project is to enable site-specific treatment rather than spraying entire fields. "Because we would be applying fewer pesticides to the crops, that would help the growers because then they have to spray less," Xavier said.
While the current trials are focused on celery, growers see potential applications for other crops. Thayer noted that similar technology could be useful in blueberries and strawberries, which have expanded in Florida as citrus production declined following greening disease. "Like our blueberry fields or our strawberry fields, which, you know, here in central Florida have become a strong part of our industry because of the problems we've had with greening in the citrus industry," he said.
UF/IFAS researchers are also developing a web-based platform that would allow growers to upload their own drone images and receive disease risk assessments linked to local weather data. A drone flight demonstration is planned during the first UF/IFAS celery field day in February. The research is expected to continue for two and a half years.
Source: Fox 13 Tampa Bay
