S14 - Session P5 - Hyperspectral Analysis for the Detection of Diseases and Stresses in Malus x domestica

Authors: Cameron Cullinan *, Katrin Janik, Ulrich Preschsl

Early detection of plant disease and stresses is a fundamental component of the rapid and effective management thereof. For instance, early detection allows for reductions in the amounts of pesticides and fertilisers applied as well as improvements in water-use efficiency, amongst others, thereby greatly improving the environmental costs associated with agriculture. Hyperspectral analysis of plants represents a powerful and promising technology to investigate plant disease and stresses in real-time and in a non-destructive way. This approach is particularly advantageous for latent disease with absent or weak symptoms which makes these diseases hard to detect in situ , as is the case regarding apple proliferation. This research group has recently focused on the spectral-based detection of ' Candidatus Phytoplasma mali', the phytoplasma responsible for the apple Proliferation (AP) disease, one of the most significant diseases of apple in several regions of Central Europe and North America. Just recently it could be shown that it is possible to differentiate AP-diseased apple trees from non-infected ones by the spectral profile of their leaves (Barthel et al. 2021). In this study, dried and processed leaves were subjected to spectral analysis in the near-infrared light range. It, however, remains to be determined as to whether the same technology can be applied directly on fresh leaves and for the detection of other stresses. In the current study, it will, thus, be further evaluated whether spectral analysis of leaves can be used to distinguish between several stresses in apple. In this poster, we will, therefore, present the experimental outline and preliminary results of a study intending to evaluate the utility of hyperspectral techniques to distinguish between plants undergoing abiotic and biotic stress in general and then, extending on this, to determine whether we can discern between individual stresses (i.e. fungal vs bacterial vs nutrient deficiency vs water-deficit stress etc.).