EVALUATING UAV CAPTURED RGB AND MULTISPECTRAL IMAGERY AS A PROXY FOR
VISUAL RATING OF LEAF SPOT IN CULTIVATED PEANUT
Abstract
Leaf spot is a devastating disease in cultivated peanut that can lead to
significant yield losses without chemical controls. Multiple disease
symptoms, two causal organisms, inconsistent testing environments, and
genotype by environment interactions are all components which make
breeding for leaf spot resistant peanuts challenging. To better
understand this disease, and make gains in breeding for disease
resistance, an accurate and effective phenotyping strategy must be
implemented. In this work, data derived from leaf scans and UAV-captured
RGB and multispectral imagery were evaluated as a replacement for the
subjective visual rating scale used at present. Standard operating
procedures are detailed for all digital methods evaluated in this paper,
and all digital phenotypes are fully characterized with descriptive
statistics. Feature importance and post hoc proof of concept studies are
conducted to further evaluate the new digital methods. Ultimately,
‘Visible Atmospherically Resistant Index’ is selected as the most
appropriate proxy for immediate use by researchers and plant breeders in
the peanut community.