An innovative system for the early diagnosis of vertical Olive cultivation was developed by the American Agricultural School of Thessaloniki as part of the OPTIMA research program. According to information from the School, the system is based on technology that “learns” to recognize the symptoms of the disease and to accurately detect them in real time, contributing to the viability of olive cultivation and the promotion of smart, digital agriculture.

The Optima program (Olive Protection via Thermal Imaging) aims to immediately detect vertical, a serious fungal disease that causes drying and tree losses, affecting the income of thousands of producers. The fungus Verticillium Dahliae has no cure and can even lead to the death of olive trees, causing significant economic damage, especially in sensitive varieties such as “mastoid”, “Kalamos”, “Amphissa”, “Thrumboulia” and “Halkidiki”.

Project innovation is based on the use of advanced drones Equipped with three types of camera: visible spectrum, multi -spectral and thermal. The visible spectrum camera provides a basic depiction of the olive grove, while multi -spectral reveals early differences between healthy and affected trees. The thermal camera detects changes in herbal tissue temperature, offering early signs of infestation that are not visible to the naked eye.

The data from the cameras are united in orthodoxy, creating unified olive groves. They are then processed by a trained model of mechanical learning, based on the Yolo algorithm, allowing accurate mapping of the infected trees.

Producers have a handy application, where all relevant information is gathered: the map of the olive grove, the trees with insults and the points that require immediate intervention. In this way, they can act preventively by protecting their production and reducing economic risk. The application can also be extended to other diseases or crops. The project was funded by the Central Macedonia Region.