A new cotton aphid image recognition algorithm and software based on YOLOv8

In order to solve the problems of high difficulty and low efficiency of manual counting in scientific research of cotton aphid population prediction and control，a cotton aphid image recognition algorithm based on YOLO neural network was proposed and developed into software. First，the images of artificially inoculated cotton aphids were taken by mobile phone for 15 consecutive days，50 clear images were selected and cut into 6 sub-images，and then the training set and test set were obtained by using LabelImg software for manual labeling. Then，10 models from the series of YOLOv5 and YOLOv8，whose training parameters were set as the same (batch size was 32，iteration was 100 rounds，initial learning rate was 0.01，and periodic learning rate was 0.01)，were selected and trained by using the server of the AutoDL platform. Finally，the trained models were tested，and the YOLOv8l model showed the best overall performance，with mAP50 reaching 0.926. In order to provide users with convenient and easy-to-use man-machine software，the front end of the software was developed by using PYQT5，to realize the functions of reading and counting of cotton aphid pictures，visualizing results and exporting results to Excel. The back end of the software adopted an image processing method of "splitting-detection-merging"，which ensuring the efficient detection of YOLO model on small targets. After testing，the software had an average precision of 0.945 for counting dead cotton aphids and live cotton aphids，which was comparable to manual counting and had good practical value. This research may provide an intelligent detection tool for researchers related to cotton aphid control and also provided key operation information for precise operation in scenes such as unmanned farms.