Plant Disease Detection through Multimodal Large Language Models and Convolutional Neural Networks

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Roumeliotis, Konstantinos I., Sapkota, Ranjan, Karkee, Manoj, Tselikas, Nikolaos D., Nasiopoulos, Dimitrios K.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Roumeliotis, Konstantinos I.
Sapkota, Ranjan
Karkee, Manoj
Tselikas, Nikolaos D.
Nasiopoulos, Dimitrios K.
author_facet Roumeliotis, Konstantinos I.
Sapkota, Ranjan
Karkee, Manoj
Tselikas, Nikolaos D.
Nasiopoulos, Dimitrios K.
contents Automation in agriculture plays a vital role in addressing challenges related to crop monitoring and disease management, particularly through early detection systems. This study investigates the effectiveness of combining multimodal Large Language Models (LLMs), specifically GPT-4o, with Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) for automated plant disease classification using leaf imagery. Leveraging the PlantVillage dataset, we systematically evaluate model performance across zero-shot, few-shot, and progressive fine-tuning scenarios. A comparative analysis between GPT-4o and the widely used ResNet-50 model was conducted across three resolutions (100, 150, and 256 pixels) and two plant species (apple and corn). Results indicate that fine-tuned GPT-4o models achieved slightly better performance compared to the performance of ResNet-50, achieving up to 98.12% classification accuracy on apple leaf images, compared to 96.88% achieved by ResNet-50, with improved generalization and near-zero training loss. However, zero-shot performance of GPT-4o was significantly lower, underscoring the need for minimal training. Additional evaluations on cross-resolution and cross-plant generalization revealed the models' adaptability and limitations when applied to new domains. The findings highlight the promise of integrating multimodal LLMs into automated disease detection pipelines, enhancing the scalability and intelligence of precision agriculture systems while reducing the dependence on large, labeled datasets and high-resolution sensor infrastructure. Large Language Models, Vision Language Models, LLMs and CNNs, Disease Detection with Vision Language Models, VLMs
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2504_20419
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Plant Disease Detection through Multimodal Large Language Models and Convolutional Neural Networks
Roumeliotis, Konstantinos I.
Sapkota, Ranjan
Karkee, Manoj
Tselikas, Nikolaos D.
Nasiopoulos, Dimitrios K.
Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition
Automation in agriculture plays a vital role in addressing challenges related to crop monitoring and disease management, particularly through early detection systems. This study investigates the effectiveness of combining multimodal Large Language Models (LLMs), specifically GPT-4o, with Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) for automated plant disease classification using leaf imagery. Leveraging the PlantVillage dataset, we systematically evaluate model performance across zero-shot, few-shot, and progressive fine-tuning scenarios. A comparative analysis between GPT-4o and the widely used ResNet-50 model was conducted across three resolutions (100, 150, and 256 pixels) and two plant species (apple and corn). Results indicate that fine-tuned GPT-4o models achieved slightly better performance compared to the performance of ResNet-50, achieving up to 98.12% classification accuracy on apple leaf images, compared to 96.88% achieved by ResNet-50, with improved generalization and near-zero training loss. However, zero-shot performance of GPT-4o was significantly lower, underscoring the need for minimal training. Additional evaluations on cross-resolution and cross-plant generalization revealed the models' adaptability and limitations when applied to new domains. The findings highlight the promise of integrating multimodal LLMs into automated disease detection pipelines, enhancing the scalability and intelligence of precision agriculture systems while reducing the dependence on large, labeled datasets and high-resolution sensor infrastructure. Large Language Models, Vision Language Models, LLMs and CNNs, Disease Detection with Vision Language Models, VLMs
title Plant Disease Detection through Multimodal Large Language Models and Convolutional Neural Networks
topic Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2504.20419