Development of Algorithms with Image Processing for a Wheat Crop Monitoring System with the Objective of Collaborating in Monitoring Plant Growth and Identification of Pests

• Grant number: 24/08406-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: March 01, 2025
• End date: February 28, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Electrical Engineering - Industrial Electronics, Electronic Systems and Controls
• Principal Investigator: Wânderson de Oliveira Assis
• Grantee: Erich Abreu Serafim
• Host Institution: Escola de Engenharia Mauá (EEM). Instituto Mauá de Tecnologia. São Caetano do Sul , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 24/01308-3 - Estimating wheat productivity using crop modeling: assimilation of in-situ data, AP.R

Abstract

Recently, the use of new technologies has been growing increasingly to increase agricultural production. In this sense, many researches and projects have been carried out using Internet of Things concepts aimed at precision agriculture. For farmers, benefits include minimizing operational costs and saving on excessive use of natural resources.Some works portray the use of technologies with image collection and processing and machine learning algorithms in agriculture in applications such as monitoring plant growth as well as recognizing the presence of pests.In several types of crops, including wheat, monitoring environmental variables to which plants and soil are subjected can contribute to improving productivity and harvest quality. After all, with the appropriate collection and processing of system data obtained by sensors in addition to images captured in real time, it is possible to evaluate indicators related to atmospheric conditions, the use of resources and their impact on production. This makes it feasible to implement strategies to control the irrigation process, monitor plant growth, control the dosage of nutrients and fertilizers, monitor and control pests, in addition to providing other benefits resulting from the use of these technologies. in process automation.In this sense, this project intends to contribute to precision agriculture in wheat farming, allowing a better understanding and taking a more systemic view of the problem, involving aspects of studying and identifying the presence of pests and evaluating the growth rate of plants. The project objectives are:a) Develop a system for image processing and analysis of digital images in precision agriculture, specifically in wheat cultivation.b) Implement a computational solution to process images and identify patterns that indicate the presence of pests in the plantation, in addition to allowing the monitoring of images of the wheat crop and checking plant growth, offering subsidies and data for decision making.The work is aligned with the FAPESP project 2024/01308-3 and will use the materials and equipment made available.The computer system for collecting and processing images and processing data will be applied to wheat crops in the city of Passo Fundo (RS) and should produce indicators such as:a) identification of patterns associated with the presence of pests;b) evaluation of the plant growth process and harvest prediction based on measuring dimensions and growth rate.