Segmentation of thermal infrared images of cucumber leaves using K-means clustering for estimating leaf wetness duration

Dongmei Wen,Aixin Ren,Xinting Yang,4 Department Of Informatics, University Of Almeria, Almeria, Cp04120, Spain ,Tao Ji,Isabel Maria Flores-Parra, ,Ming Li

doi:10.25165/j.ijabe.20201303.4301

Abstract

Segmentation of thermal infrared images of cucumber leaves using K-means clustering for estimating leaf wetness duration

Highlights

For many plant crops grown in solar greenhouses, ideal conditions in terms of temperature, humidity, and surface wetness are important contributors to the development of foliar fungal diseases[1]
The results of comparative experiments conducted using thermal images of plant leaves captured using an infrared scanning camera and human visual observation indicated that the estimated Leaf wetness duration (LWD) values were generally higher than the observed LWD values, because slight leaf wetness condensations were overlooked by the human eye but detected by the infrared scanning camera
While these differences were not found to be statistically significant in this study, the proposed method for determining LWD using thermal infrared imaging may provide a new LWD detection method for cucumber and other plants grown in solar greenhouses

Summary

Introduction

For many plant crops grown in solar greenhouses, ideal conditions in terms of temperature, humidity, and surface wetness are important contributors to the development of foliar fungal diseases[1]. Leaf wetness is important because it provides the free water required by pathogens to infect foliar tissue[2]. Leaf wetness, defined as the visible presence of water on a leaf surface[3], can be caused by the roof or plastic film runoff, guttation, or fertilization in solar greenhouses[4,5]. Guttation, which occurs with adequate irrigation and high relative humidity, increases leaf wetness duration (LWD)[6]. When free water on plants exceeds a pathogen-specific length of time and temperatures are appropriate, pathogen spores can germinate and infect the host[7,8]. The incidence of downy mildew, caused by Pseudoperonospora cubensis, increases as LWD increases; studies conducted in growth chambers have confirmed the positive relationship between LWD and the incidence of this disease[9]

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Methods

Results

Conclusion