Detection of Fungal Infection in Canola using Near-Infrared Hyperspectral Imaging

Abstract

Near-infrared (NIR) hyperspectral imaging was used to detect the presence of fungal infection in stored canola. Artificially fungal infected (Aspergillus glaucus group) canola was subjected to single kernel imaging every two weeks after incubation using an NIR imaging system in the wavelength range of 1000 to 1600 nm at 60 evenly distributed wavelengths. Three wavelengths 1100, 1230 and 1300 nm were identified as significant wavelengths and used in the analysis. Statistical discriminant classifiers (Linear and Quadratic) were used to classify healthy, two–, four–, six–, eight–, and ten–week fungal incubated samples. The linear and quadratic statistical classifiers gave maximum accuracy of 99% for healthy samples and 100% for fungal infected samples at later stages of infection levels and 90 to 95% for the first four weeks of A. glaucus infected samples.