Background and Objective: Gray mold is a serious problem in strawberry production worldwide. Early diagnostic of diseased strawberry fruits allows export decision. The aim of the study was to test the capability of spectral measurement for detecting the asymptomatic Botrytis infection. Materials and Methods: Asymptomatic and symptomatic samples of 25 strawberry fruits were measured for gray mold using two reliable systems, qPCR and spectroradiometer, to detect the causal pathogen, Botrytis cinerea . Results: Molecular results showed the presence of gray mold in many asymptomatic fruits. Moreover, spectral analysis demonstrated a higher reflectance in healthy fruit than that of infected ones throughout the visible near infra red (VNIR) spectral range, while the short wave infra red (SWIR) spectral zone showed different degrees of gray mold infection. Conclusion: The VNIR found to be the best spectral zone that could differentiate between healthy and infected strawberry fruits due to infection impact on the cellular pigments of the fruit, while SWIR was the best spectral zone to classify infection degrees because of the changes in cellular structure and water content due to infection.
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