# MaizeStandCounting (MaSC): Automated and Accurate Maize Stand Counting from UAV Imagery Using Image Processing and Deep Learning

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.07580 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2510.07580/

## Key facts

- Cited by 2 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 8 of its 51 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 8 Oct 2025.

## Builds on (most cited first, 8 of 8)

- [YOLOv3: An Incremental Improvement](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1804.02767/) (2018)
- [YOLOv4: Optimal Speed and Accuracy of Object Detection](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2004.10934/) (2020)
- [YOLOv7: Trainable bag-of-freebies sets new state-of-the-art for real-time object detectors](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2207.02696/) (2022)
- [YOLOv9: Learning What You Want to Learn Using Programmable Gradient Information](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2402.13616/) (2024)
- [YOLOv12: Attention-Centric Real-Time Object Detectors](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2502.12524/) (2025)
- [High-Throughput Image-Based Plant Stand Count Estimation Using Convolutional Neural Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2010.12552/) (2020)
- [High precision control and deep learning-based corn stand counting algorithms for agricultural robot](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2103.11276/) (2021)
- [Maize Seedling Detection Dataset (MSDD): A Curated High-Resolution RGB Dataset for Seedling Maize Detection and Benchmarking with YOLOv9, YOLO11, YOLOv12 and Faster-RCNN](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2509.15181/) (2025)

## Built on by (most cited first, 2 of 2)

- [Advancing MLLM-based UAV Image Understanding and Reasoning: A Benchmark and a Training-Free Multi-Agent System](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2608.11738/) (2026)
- [When Ground-Truth Fidelity Matters: An Orchestrated UAS Framework for Wheat Streak Mosaic Virus Detection Using Vision Transformers and Machine Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2609.12169/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Accurate maize stand counts are essential for crop management and research, informing yield prediction, planting density optimization, and early detection of germination issues. Manual counting is labor-intensive, slow, and error-prone, especially across large or variable fields. We present MaizeStandCounting (MaSC), a robust algorithm for automated maize seedling stand counting from RGB imagery captured by low-cost UAVs and processed on affordable hardware. MaSC operates in two modes: (1) mosaic images divided into patches, and (2) raw video frames aligned using homography matrices. Both modes use a lightweight YOLOv9 model trained to detect maize seedlings from V2-V10 growth stages. MaSC distinguishes maize from weeds and other vegetation, then performs row and range segmentation based on the spatial distribution of detections to produce precise row-wise stand counts. Evaluation against in-field manual counts from our 2024 summer nursery showed strong agreement with ground truth (R^2= 0.616 for mosaics, R^2 = 0.906 for raw frames). MaSC processed 83 full-resolution frames in 60.63 s, including inference and post-processing, highlighting its potential for real-time operation. These results demonstrate MaSC's effectiveness as a scalable, low-cost, and accurate tool for automated maize stand counting in both research and production environments.