Comparison of Trimble GreenSeeker and Crop Circle (Model ACS-210) Reflectance Meters for Assessment of Severity of Late Leaf Spot

Four field experiments conducted in 2015 were used to examine the relationships among normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) measurements from two canopy crop sensors and visual estimates of defoliation by late leaf spot (Nothopassalora personata) of peanut (Arachis hypogaea) the predominant foliar disease in this study. For each evaluation, reflectance was measured with each the two meters, and leaf spot severity was measured visually within as short a time as possible. Linear and quadratic regression models were used to characterize the relationships between percent defoliation from late leaf spot and NDVI measured with the GreenSeeker (NDVIGS) and Crop Circle (NDVICC) instruments and the relationships between NDVIGS and NDVICC. NDVIGS decreased with increasing percent defoliation according to linear or quadratic functions in three of the four trials, NDVICC decreased with increasing percent defoliation according to linear functions in three of four trials. In two of the four trials, NDVICC increased with increasing NDVIGS according to quadratic functions, but there was no significant regression for those variables in two trials. In three of the four trials, NDVICC linear regression had a better fit for predicting percent defoliation according to the coefficient of determination (R2). There was no indication for either instrument that the same NDVI reading corresponded with the same level of defoliation across trials. Results indicated that NDVI measurements from the two instruments are not interchangeable.