Identification of Bacterial Diseases in Rice Plants Leaves by the Use of Spectroscopic Imaging

<p class="1Body">Rice is staple in the African habitats menu. Bacterial wilt (BLB) and leaf streak (BLS) are some of the phytopathological diseases which restrain rice production around the world. In this paper, multi-spectral and multi-modal imaging techniques have been developed to characterize the rice leaves with symptoms of bacterial wilt (BLB) and leaf streak (BLS), and to provide information on their effects, in order to reduce their spread. First, we recorded microscopic and spectroscopic images of the samples using multimodal and multispectral microscope, with spectral region ranging from UV to NIR, for each mode. Then, we extracted the spectral footprints of the cells constituents, in transmission, reflection and scattering from the spectral images. Applying multivariate statistical analysis methods to this optical spectra allowed us to characterize the effect of bacterial rice leaves caused by <em>Xanthomonas oryzae</em> strains. The results of the proposed technique can be useful for easy identification of this type of infection, and can serve as routine approach in biochemical and agronomic laboratories.</p>