Final published version
Licence: CC BY: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Feasibility of detecting apple scab infections using low-cost sensors and interpreting radiation interactions with scab lesions
AU - Bleasedale, A.J.
AU - Blackburn, Alan
AU - Whyatt, Duncan
PY - 2022/9/30
Y1 - 2022/9/30
N2 - Apple scab is a disease caused by the fungus Venturia inaequalis(Cke.) Wint. which can spread rapidly throughout orchards diminishing tree productivity and causing huge losses in marketable fruit. Efficient orchard reconnaissance and early detection of infections can inform fungicide applications for effective disease control and a range of new low-cost sensors offer a means of imaging orchards as the basis of scab detection. This study evaluates the potential contribution of three imaging devices: a multispectral (VIS-NIR) camera, thermal camera and a 3D sensor, for the detection of scab on young apple plants. In a controlled experiment, apple seedings were infected with scab and disease progression was imaged daily under natural illumination conditions in a glasshouse with minimal image processing. Whilst the thermal and 3D sensors images were deemed unsuitable for scab detection, the high-resolution multispectral imagery was exceptionally effective, with the NIR band (800–1000 nm) permitting the earliest scab detection due to the substantially lower reflectance of the fungal structures of V. inaequalis relative to healthy leaf tissue. We offer a model of near-infrared radiation interactions with the fungus and leaf interactions to explain reflectance characteristics of scab infected leaves throughout the growth cycle of the pathogen. The simple, low-cost remote-sensing approach developed here holds considerable promise for providing timely information on tree infection to improve the efficiency of apple scab disease management routines.
AB - Apple scab is a disease caused by the fungus Venturia inaequalis(Cke.) Wint. which can spread rapidly throughout orchards diminishing tree productivity and causing huge losses in marketable fruit. Efficient orchard reconnaissance and early detection of infections can inform fungicide applications for effective disease control and a range of new low-cost sensors offer a means of imaging orchards as the basis of scab detection. This study evaluates the potential contribution of three imaging devices: a multispectral (VIS-NIR) camera, thermal camera and a 3D sensor, for the detection of scab on young apple plants. In a controlled experiment, apple seedings were infected with scab and disease progression was imaged daily under natural illumination conditions in a glasshouse with minimal image processing. Whilst the thermal and 3D sensors images were deemed unsuitable for scab detection, the high-resolution multispectral imagery was exceptionally effective, with the NIR band (800–1000 nm) permitting the earliest scab detection due to the substantially lower reflectance of the fungal structures of V. inaequalis relative to healthy leaf tissue. We offer a model of near-infrared radiation interactions with the fungus and leaf interactions to explain reflectance characteristics of scab infected leaves throughout the growth cycle of the pathogen. The simple, low-cost remote-sensing approach developed here holds considerable promise for providing timely information on tree infection to improve the efficiency of apple scab disease management routines.
KW - Digital Camera
KW - Thermal Infrared
KW - Near-infrared
KW - Plant Leaf
U2 - 10.1080/01431161.2022.2122895
DO - 10.1080/01431161.2022.2122895
M3 - Journal article
VL - 43
SP - 4984
EP - 5005
JO - International Journal of Remote Sensing
JF - International Journal of Remote Sensing
SN - 0143-1161
IS - 13
ER -