Deep Learning-Based Detection of Phytoplasma
Disease in Various Plants Using Convolutional
Neural Networks
1st MOH.KAIF YUSUF MULLA 2nd VARUN SANTOSH POL
CSE (AIML) CSE (AIML)
KIT’s College of Engineering Kolhapur KIT’s College of Engineering Kolhapur KIT’s College of Engineering Kolhapur
Maharashtra, India Maharashtra, India
kaifmulla47@gmail.com varunpol1864@gmail.com
SHAJAHAN ABOOBACKER
CSE (AIML)
KIT’s College of Engineering Kolhapur
Maharashtra, India
aboobacker.shahajahan@kitcoek.in
Abstract—The presence of Phytoplasma disease poses a signif-
icant threat to agriculture worldwide to various plants causing
reduced yield and economic losses. Although various traditional
methods have been used to detect the disease, they are not
always effective due to the pathogen’s complexity. Therefore,
this paper proposes a model that uses Convolutional Neural
Networks (CNNs) to detect the sympotoms of various Plants
that are important to Indian economy.The model is specifically
designed to identify Phytoplasma infected plants from images,
achieving high accuracy in distinguishing between healthy and
infected plants. This model provides a promising tool for early
detection and management of the disease in various plants.
Index Terms—Phytoplasma Disease, Indian Economy, Disease
Vectors, Convolutional Neural Networks, Deep Learning, Disease
Detection.
I. I NTRODUCTION
Phytoplasma is a dangerous pathogen that poses a sig-
nificant threat to global agriculture, impacting various plant
species. However, the complexity and variability of Phyto-
plasma make it difficult to detect, and traditional methods
often fail. To address this issue, our research aims to develop
an innovative solution by leveraging Convolutional Neural
Networks (CNNs) for automated disease detection in various
plants.
India is one of the largest contributors to the world’s
plant production, including sugarcane, coconut, rice, grapes,
etc. Therefore, India faces significant risks from Phytoplasma
disease outbreaks, exacerbating existing challenges in the
agricultural sector. Through the deployment of CNNs, we
seek to revolutionize disease management practices by offering
farmers and agricultural stakeholders a powerful tool for early
detection and prevention of the spreading of the disease.
The impact of Phytoplasma disease on the global agriculture
sector makes it a matter of international concern. Within
TANVI PATIL
CSE (AIML)
Maharashtra, India
patil.tanvi@kitcoek.in
UMA GURAV
CSE (AIML)
KIT’s College of Engineering Kolhapur
Maharashtra, India
gurav.uma@kitcoek.in
India, sugarcane, coconut, rice, grapes, etc., are integral to the
livelihood of millions of farmers. Therefore, the implications
of Phytoplasma disease are acutely felt, particularly in the state
of Maharashtra, underscoring the urgent need for effective
disease management strategies.
In this research, we acquired a comprehensive dataset com-
prising images of the mentioned plants exhibiting symptoms
of Phytoplasma infection. With this dataset, we developed
a CNN-based model capable of accurately identifying and
classifying Phytoplasma-infected plants from healthy ones.
Our contribution lies in the application of cutting-edge deep
learning techniques to address a critical agricultural challenge,
offering a novel approach to disease detection and manage-
ment in various plant cultivation.
The main contributions of this research paper are:
• Understanding the pathogen and the vectors responsible
for transmission of this pathogen.
• Development of a CNN-based model for automated dis-
ease detection in various plants.
• Acquisition and preprocessing of a diverse dataset for
model training and validation.
• Choosing the plants from the perspective of the Indian
economy.
The remaining sections of the paper are arranged as follows:
II. Background of the Pathogen III. Related Work IV. Proposed
Work/Methodology V. Future Scope VI. Conclusion.
II. BACKGROUND OF THE PATHOGEN
Phytoplasma, a type of cell-wall-less bacteria belonging to
the class Mollicutes, are responsible for causing Phytoplasma
diseases in plants. These diseases are caused by a unique
group of obligate, prokaryotic, pathoenic bacteria that lack
cell walls. Over 1000 plant disease have been associated
 Fig. 1: Planthopper
with pythoplasma globally, affecting a wide range of crops,
including vegetables, fruits, oranmentals cereals, oil crops,
sugarcane and many more.
Phytoplasma variants exhibit considerable genetic diversity,
leading to a variety of symptoms and host-specific interactions.
The taxonomy of Phytoplasma is based on the analysis of
16S ribosomal RNA gene sequences, which has revealed a
vast array of phylogenetic groups or ’Candidatus Phytoplasma’
species.
The transmission of Phytoplasma diseases often occurs
through insect vectors, primarily leafhoppers, planthoppers,
and psyllids. These insects feed on plant phloem sap, inadver-
tently acquiring and transmitting Phytoplasma as they move
between infected and healthy plants. The complex relationship
between Phytoplasma and their insect vectors contributes to
the challenges in disease management and control.
Understanding the anatomy and feeding behavior of Phyto-
plasma vectors is essential for implementing effective control
strategies, such as insecticide applications and habitat man-
agement, to minimize the spread of Phytoplasma diseases in
agricultural ecosystems.
One of the most concerning aspects of Phytoplasma diseases
is their incurability once a plant is infected.Unlike fungal or
bacterial infections that may be treatable with fungicides or
antibiotics, there are no effective chemical control measures
available for Phytoplasma diseases. Therefore, prevention and
early detection are crucial for minimizing the impact of these
diseases on agricultural productivity.
Phytoplasma diseases first appeared in India in the late
1960s, with the identification of diseases such as ’little leaf’
in coconut palms and ’yellows’ in sugarcane. Since then,
Phytoplasma infections have been documented in various
crops across the country, causing significant losses in yield
and quality.For example, in Maharashtra, outbreaks of ’ratoon
stunting disease’ in sugarcane have resulted in yield losses
of up to 40 percent, highlighting the devastating effects of
Phytoplasma diseases on agriculture.
Fig. 2: Leafhopper
Fig. 3: Anatomy of Vector
III. R ELATED W ORK
Manual strategies detecting the Phytoplasma disease are
inherently time consuming and error-inclined.Recent research
has focused on leveraging advanced machine learning tech-
niques, specifically transfer learning neural networks, for the
detection and diagnosis of phytoplasma diseases. The follow-
ing models have demonstrated promising results:
Faster R-CNN Inception v2: This approach combines a
Region Proposal Network (RPN) with Fast R-CNN, utilizing
a convolutional neural network to effectively detect objects
in images. The incorporation of the RPN enables high-quality
region proposals, enhancing the model’s detection capabilities.
YOLO v4: You Only Look Once (YOLO) version 4 is
an innovative, real-time object detection system that can
identify multiple objects within a single frame. By processing
the entire image using a single neural network, YOLO v4
offers improved performance in multi-scale object detection
tasks, making it a suitable candidate for phytoplasma disease
detection.
Single Shot Detection (SSD): SSD is a faster alternative to
traditional convolutional neural networks for object detection.
It analyzes multiple objects in a single image, producing

Fig. 4: The Structural Framework of Faster R-CNN, YOLOv4,
SSD Mobilenet v2
bounding boxes and offsets for each region of interest. This
efficient approach has the potential to significantly reduce the
time and resources required for phytoplasma disease identifi-
cation. [1]
Other Related Work are as follows:
• Our understanding about phytoplasma research scenario
in India[2021] [2]
• A century progress of research on phytoplasma diseases
in India[2017] [3]
• Comparative Performance Analysis of Real-Time Meth-
ods for Cassava Phytoplasma Disease (CPD) Detection
based on Deep Learning Neural Networks[2022] [1]
• The Anatomy and Ultrastructure of the Digestive Tract
and Salivary Glands of Hishimonus lamellatus (Hemipter
Cicadellidae)[2019] [4]
• First report of mixed infection of phytoplasmas and
begomoviruses in eggplant in India[2015] [5]
• Phytoplasmas: Plant Pathogenic Bacteria - I Character-
isation and Epidemiology of Phytoplasma - Associated
Diseases: Characterisation and Epidemiology of Phyto-
plasma - Associated Diseases[2018] [6]
• Multigene characterization of a ’Candidatus Phytoplasma
australasia’ - related strain associated with phyllody dis-
ease of coriander in India[2019] [7]
• First report of ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma
aurantifolia’(16SrII-A) associated with strawflower
phyllody[2019] [8]
• A new strain of ’Candidatus Phytoplasma asteris’ as-
sociated with bottle gourd phyllody disease in South
India[2020] [9]
• Standard Detection Protocol: PCR and RFLP Analyses
Based on 16S rRNA Gene: Methods and Protocols[2019]
[10]
• Molecular detection and identification of a strain related
to ‘ Candidatus phytoplasma australasia’ in marigold in
India[2020] [11]
• Development of field-applicable tests for rapid and sen-
sitive detection of Candidatus Phytoplasma oryzae[2017]
[12]
• Crystal structure of phyllogen, a phyllody-inducing effec-
tor protein of phytoplasma[2019] [13]
• First Report of “ Candidatu s Phytoplasma trifolii” As-
sociated with Witches’ Broom Disease of Rauwolfia
serpentina from Northeast Region of India[2019] [14]
• Draft Genome Sequences of Two Phytoplasma Strains
associated with Sugarcane Grassy Shoot (SCGS) and
Bermuda Grass White Leaf (BGWL) diseases[2020] [15]
• First report of association of a 16SrII group phyto-
plasma with a witches’broom disease of Croton bonplan-
dianum[2020] [16]
• Identification of 16SrII-D group phytoplasma associated
with Setaria verticillata (L.) P. Beauv. in India[2020] [17]
• Multilocus sequence analysis of a ‘Candidatus Phyto-
plasma australasia’-related strain associated with peanut
little leaf disease in India[2020] [18]
• Mussaenda erythrophylla: A new host of ‘Candidatus
Phytoplasma asteris’ in India[2020] [19]
• Detection of a ‘ Candidatus phytoplasma trifolii’-related
strain in Xerochrysum bracteatum showing a leaf yellow-
ing disease[2020] [20]
• Detection, Characterization and In-Silico Analysis of
Candidatus Phytoplasma australasiae Associated with Big
Bud Disease of Tomato in India[2018] [21]
IV. P ROPOSED W ORK /M ETHODOLOGY
Our proposed methodology centers on the utilization of
Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) to effectively detect
Phytoplasma disease in various plants. Leveraging the power
of deep learning, specifically TensorFlow, we have developed a
robust CNN-based model capable of accurately identifying the
symptoms associated with Phytoplasma infection. TensorFlow,
a popular open-source machine learning framework, provides
the necessary tools and functionalities to construct and train
complex neural network architectures with ease.
In our methodology, we begin by preprocessing the input
images to standardize their size and enhance their quality,
thereby facilitating optimal performance during training and
inference. This preprocessing step involves resizing, normal-
ization, and augmentation techniques to ensure the model’s
robustness and generalization capabilities. TensorFlow’s im-
age processing libraries streamline these tasks, allowing for
efficient data preprocessing pipelines.
Subsequently, we construct the CNN architecture, compris-
ing multiple convolutional and pooling layers followed by
fully connected layers, culminating in an output layer for
disease classification. TensorFlow’s extensive collection of
pre-built layers and modules simplifies the process of building
and customizing neural network architectures. We employ
popular CNN architectures, such as VGG models tailored to
the specific characteristics of the input data.
 Training the model involves optimizing its parameters using
labeled datasets consisting of images of both healthy and
Phytoplasma-infected plants. During training, TensorFlow’s
optimization algorithms, such as stochastic gradient descent
(SGD) or Adam, iteratively adjust the model’s weights to
minimize the classification error. Additionally, TensorFlow’s
automatic differentiation capabilities enable efficient compu-
tation of gradients, accelerating the training process.
Once trained, the CNN model can accurately classify unseen
plant images as either healthy or infected with Phytoplasma
disease. TensorFlow’s seamless integration with deployment
platforms facilitates the deployment of the trained model
in real-world scenarios, enabling farmers and agricultural
stakeholders to utilize the tool for early disease detection and
management. Overall, our proposed methodology harnesses
the capabilities of TensorFlow to develop an effective and
accessible solution for combating Phytoplasma disease in
various plant cultivation.
Dataset Preprocessing
Image Resizing, Normalization, Augmentation
CNN Architecture Design
Training the CNN Model
Model Evaluation and Hyperparameter Tuning
Model Deployment
V. F UTURE S COPE
The scope of this project extends beyond its current im-
plementation, paving the way for future advancements and
applications in the field of plant disease detection and man-
agement. Initially focused on detecting Phytoplasma disease
solely through image analysis, our research lays the ground-
work for potential enhancements to increase accuracy and
simplicity in future iterations. Collaborative efforts among
researchers may explore avenues for refining the CNN-based
model, incorporating additional data sources or advanced al-
gorithms to further improve disease detection capabilities. By
continuously refining and optimizing the detection process, we
can strive towards achieving greater precision and reliability
in identifying Phytoplasma-infected plants.
Moreover, as advancements in agricultural research and
biotechnology continue to unfold, the integration of our detec-
tion model with innovative solutions for disease management
holds promise for the future. In the event of discovering a cure
for Phytoplasma disease, researchers may leverage our model
as a foundational framework for developing integrated systems
capable of both detection and treatment. This could entail the
deployment of autonomous systems such as robots or drones
equipped with sensing technology and treatment mechanisms,
allowing for real-time monitoring and intervention in agricul-
tural settings. By combining detection and cure capabilities,
such integrated systems have the potential to revolutionize
plant disease management practices, safeguarding crop yields
and ensuring food security on a global scale.
VI. C ONCLUSION
In conclusion, our study presents a robust solution for the
automated detection of Phytoplasma disease in various plants
utilizing Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs). Through the
development and training of a CNN-based model on a com-
prehensive dataset, we have demonstrated the efficacy of deep
learning techniques in accurately identifying Phytoplasma-
infected plants from images. Across the epochs of training, our
model consistently exhibited high accuracy, with the validation
accuracy reaching 91.7 % after the first epoch, showcasing
its proficiency in distinguishing between healthy and infected
plants.
The utilization of CNNs for disease detection offers several
advantages over traditional methods, particularly in terms of
efficiency and accuracy. By leveraging the power of deep
learning, our model provides a promising tool for early disease
detection and management in various plant cultivation, thereby
mitigating the detrimental effects of Phytoplasma infection on
crop yield and economic sustainability.
With further refinement and validation, our CNN-based
approach holds immense potential for broader application in
agricultural settings worldwide. By harnessing technological
advancements in machine learning and image processing, we
can empower farmers and stakeholders with the tools neces-
sary to safeguard crops and ensure food security in the face of
evolving agricultural challenges. As we continue to refine and
optimize our model, we remain committed to advancing the
field of agricultural technology and contributing to the global
effort to enhance crop resilience and sustainability.
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