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Rust caused by Phakopsora pachyrhizi Syd. is a major constraint to soybean product in Asia. Early detection and possibilities of controlling plant diseases by the integration of several image processing methods has been the subject of extensive research. The main contribution of this paper is to present different methodologies for quantitatively detecting soybean rust at each stage of disease development, identify disease even before specific symptoms become visible and grade based on percentage of disease severity. Severity of rust infection levels at each stage of disease development was observed for 25 days on soybean leaf. Then color distribution and pixel relationship in rust infected leaf image was calculated based on global and local features for quantifying rust severity. Further, rust disease was categorized into grades based on infection severity levels and percentage disease index (PDI) was calculated. The maximum PDI of 95.5 was observed at 25^th day and minimum PDI of 0.2 was observed at 6^th day.  

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Experiments were conducted to study the color change kinetics of green bell pepper during vacuum-assisted microwave (VAM) drying at three levels of microwave power (100, 200, and 300 W) and vacuum (200, 400, and 600 mmHg). The color change, measured by a tristimulus colorimeter, in VAM dried sample was found better with least browning at lower microwave power and higher vacuum level combinations. L^*, ΔE^* and H^* were fitted well to zero-order kinetic model, while a^*, b^*, C^* and BI^* followed a first-order kinetic model. All these color parameters were fitted to a quadratic equation as a function of microwave and vacuum level ratio. Both ΔE^* and BI^* increased with the increase in microwave power and decrease in vacuum level, whereas other color parameters decreased under the same condition of the process variables. The rate constant was assumed to have Arrhenius-type dependence on power density. The activation energy was calculated for color change kinetic parameters by using an exponential expression based on Arrhenius equation. The activation energy values were calculated and found within the range of 3.20-13.58 Wg^‒1, except for b^* (E_a = 26.708 Wg^‒1) and C^* value (E_a = 20.4105 Wg^‒1). The b^* and C^* values obtained were relatively higher and thus were more sensitive measures of color change, which must be taken care of during postharvest drying of green bell pepper for getting a quality product.
 

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Seed priming can restore age-induced loss of seed viability or longevity; however, these invigoration responses may vary with priming agents and seed aging duration. The present study investigated the effect of two potassium salts (K-salts) individually and in combination (1:1) on different lots of muskmelon genotype, MS-1 seeds stored for four consecutive years, from 2013 to 2016 under ambient conditions. The combination of K-salts significantly enhanced the percent germination of seeds stored for two years (from 2015 to 2016). Further, it also improved root morpho-traits of 10-day-old seedlings. The storage duration had significant effect on the seed surface bacterial and fungal populations. A significantly higher cfu mL^-1 microbial counts were recorded for 2013 harvested seeds on three different agar-based media compared to 2014 to 2016 stored seeds. Further, the Scanning EM and FT-IR study revealed the surface microbiological status and functional groups variations, respectively. Thus, aging-related seed coat microflora is responsible for deterioration of the seed coat. Osmo-conditioning cannot restore viability of seeds stored under ambient conditions for more than two years.