Rapid and Nondestructive Discrimination of Fusarium Asiaticum and Fusarium Graminearum in Hulled Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) Using Near-Infrared Spectroscopy

Purpose: This study was conducted to discriminate between normal hulled barley and Fusarium (Fusarium asiaticum and Fusarium graminearum) infected hulled barley by using the near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) technique. Methods: Fusarium asiaticum and Fusarium graminearum were artificially inoculated in hulled barley and the reflectance spectrum of the barley spike was obtained by using a near-infrared spectral sensor with wavelength band in the range 1,175-2,170 nm. After obtaining the spectrum of the specimen, the hulled barley was cultivated in a greenhouse and visually inspected for infections. Results: From a partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) prediction model developed from the raw spectrum data of the hulled barley, the discrimination accuracy for the normal and infected hulled barley was 99.82% (563/564) and 100% (672/672), respectively. Conclusions: NIRS is effective as a quick and nondestructive method to detect whether hulled barley has been infected with Fusarium. Further, it expected that NIRS will be able to detect Fusarium infections in other grains as well.