Developing an aphid damage hyperspectral index for detecting aphid (Hemiptera: Aphididae) damage levels in winter wheat

Aphid (Hemiptera: Aphididae) appears in wheat planting area of China almost every year and have had significant economic impacts on wheat yield. As a result, large amounts of insecticides are used to control aphid populations, which may cause environmental pollution. Therefore, remote sensing as a repeatable and rapid method is necessary for monitoring aphid damage level. The study analyzed the hyperspectral characteristics of wheat infested by several aphid damage levels and selected out the sensitive bands to aphid damage levels, and the aphid damage hyperspectral index (ADHI) was developed based on the most sensitive bands to aphid damage levels in the visible, near-infrared and short-wave infrared regions. The results indicated that ADHI exhibited a high correlation with aphid damage levels (R² =0.839), so it had the potential to detect wheat damage caused by aphid.