Implementation of expert systems in potassium deficiency in cocoa plants using forward chaining method

Abstract

As one of the largest exporters in the world, cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) production in Indonesia provides an important contribution to the plantation sector that can, directly and indirectly, attribute to the national economic development. However, recent data shows a decline in cocoa productivity in Indonesia. This is arguably caused by various factors, including poor agricultural management and practices in cocoa plantations, that may lead to lower fertility in the soil and an increased risk of diseases and pests. Potassium deficiency is a major contributing factor to the low soil fertility that affects cocoa yields. Therefore, in this work, we implement an application with an expert system utilizing the forward chaining method to detect potassium deficiency in cocoa plants and then give a fertilization-based recommendation based on the plants’ condition. The system employs a set of rules to identify symptoms related to the deficiency on the sample photo of a cocoa leaf according to the channels of red, green, and blue of the image. The sample images of cocoa leaves are submitted to the application with an easy-to-use interface that can show the scanning result and proceed to display the suggested quantity of fertilizers to prevent potassium deficiency. Implementing the system can contribute constructive impacts to improve current practices in the overall cropping system of cocoa plants.