Vol. 9 pp.1 - 12.

AbstractLate blight, caused by Phytophthora infestans, threatens tomato and potato crops in Nepal. This study explores developing and deploying a mobile application powered by a graph neural network (GNN) to predict late blight risk for Nepali farmers. The GNN trained on 43 years of NASA satellite weather data can generate 5-days forecast for 320 weather stations in Sudurpashim and Karnali Province, Nepal. The mobile application offers user-friendly forecasts and visualizes late blight risk through clear graphical interfaces. In the visited sites, 30% of tomato and potato crops were found infected with late blight, which the app had identified as high-risk. Samples infected with late blight were collected and analyzed in a wet lab setting. All infected samples tested positive for P. infestans, confirming the app's ability to predict real-world late blight outbreaks. This study showcases the successful development and deployment of a GNN-powered mobile application for assessing late blight risk in Nepal. The application disseminates critical weather information and localized risk assessments, potentially enhancing late blight management in tomato and potato crops. Further research, including extensive field trials comparing with farmers' practices, could increase the application's usability in Nepali fields.