Deep learning-based object detection models have emerged as powerful tools for real-time pest monitoring in agriculture. Locust swarms pose a severe threat to crops, necessitating prompt and accurate detection. This study evaluates the performance of two state-of-the-art object detection models, YOLOv5 and YOLOv8, for locust detection in smart farming. After training and testing these models on a custom dataset, their accuracy, precision, recall, mean average precision (mAP), and F1 score are compared. The results demonstrate that YOLOv8 slightly outperforms YOLOv5 in terms of accuracy and recall, while YOLOv5 is faster and requires fewer resources. In addition to baseline testing, data augmentation techniques are applied, leading to improved model performance and accuracy. YOLOv8 achieved an accuracy of 79.80% after data enhancement, highlighting its potential for real-time locust detection. This comparative analysis provides valuable insights into the strengths and weaknesses of each model, which can contribute to smart farming initiatives, aiding in the selection of the most suitable tool for sustainable agriculture and food security, such as pest monitoring and management.
Vajpayee et al. (2025) studied this question.