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Disease Detection and Losses

Monitoring Cereal Rust Development With A Spectral Radiometer. E. L. Sharp, Montana Agricultural Experiment Station; C. R. Perry(2), A. L. Scharen(3), G. O. Boatwright(4), D. C. Sands(5), L. F. Lautenschlager(6), C. M. Yahyaoui(7), and F. W. Ravet(8). (2)(6)U.S. Department of Agriculture, Statistical Reporting Service, Statistical Research Division, Washington, DC; (3)(7)U. S. Department of Agriculture, ARS, Bozeman, MT; (4)(8)U.S. Department of Agriculture, Houston, TX; (5)Montana Agricultural Experiment Station. Phytopathology 75:936-939. Accepted for publication 22 March 1985. This article is in the public domain and not copyrightable. It may be freely reprinted with customary crediting of the source. The American Phytopathological Society, 1985. DOI: 10.1094/Phyto-75-936.

Three wheat cultivars susceptible to either stem rust or stripe rust were evaluated to determine the association of stripe rust and radiometric leaf reflectance to rust development and yield. Four vegetative indices based on these measurements were used to detect differences between healthy and diseased plants. Vegetation index differences between inoculated and control plants became progressively greater as the rust infection developed. Thus, it would appear feasible to use remotely collected radiometric reflectance data to estimate disease incidence over large production areas. This information could also be used to estimate potential yield losses due to disease.