Verticillium wilt is characterized by chlorosis in leaves and is a devastating disease in eggplant. Early diagnosis, prior to the manifestation of symptoms, enables targeted management of the disease. In this study, we aim to detect early leaf wilt in eggplant leaves caused by Verticillium dahliae by integrating multispectral imaging with machine learning and deep learning techniques. Multispectral and chlorophyll fluorescence images were collected from leaves of the inbred eggplant line 11-435, including data on image texture, spectral reflectance, and chlorophyll fluorescence. Subsequently, we established a multispectral data model, fusion information model, and multispectral image–information fusion model. The multispectral image–information fusion model, integrated with a two-dimensional convolutional neural network (2D-CNN), demonstrated optimal performance in classifying early-stage Verticillium wilt infection, achieving a test accuracy of 99.37%. Additionally, transfer learning enabled us to diagnose early leaf wilt in another eggplant variety, the inbred line 14-345, with an accuracy of 84.54 ± 1.82%. Compared to traditional methods that rely on visible symptom observation and typically require about 10 days to confirm infection, this study achieved early detection of Verticillium wilt as soon as the third day post-inoculation. These findings underscore the potential of the fusion model as a valuable tool for the early detection of pre-symptomatic states in infected plants, thereby offering theoretical support for in-field detection of eggplant health.

Studies on the phenotypic traits and their associations in Chinese cabbage lack precise and objective digital evaluation metrics. Traditional assessment methods often rely on subjective evaluations and experience, compromising accuracy and reliability. This study develops an innovative, comprehensive trait evaluation method based on 3D point cloud technology, with the aim of enhancing the precision, reliability, and standardization of the comprehensive phenotypic traits of Chinese cabbage. By using multi-view image sequences and structure-from-motion algorithms, 3D point clouds of 50 plants from each of the 17 Chinese cabbage varieties were reconstructed. Color-based region growing and 3D convex hull techniques were employed to measure 30 agronomic traits. Comparisons between 3D point cloud-based measurements of the plant spread, plant height, leaf area, and leaf ball volume and traditional methods yielded R² values greater than 0.97, with root mean square errors of 1.27 cm, 1.16 cm, 839.77 cm³, and 59.15 cm², respectively. Based on the plant spread and plant height, a linear regression prediction of Chinese cabbage weights was conducted, yielding an R² value of 0.76. Integrated optimization algorithms were used to test the parameters, reducing the measurement time from 55 min when using traditional methods to 3.2 min. Furthermore, in-depth analyses including variation, correlation, principal component analysis, and clustering analyses were conducted. Variation analysis revealed significant trait variability, with correlation analysis indicating 21 pairs of traits with highly significant positive correlations and 2 pairs with highly significant negative correlations. The top six principal components accounted for 90% of the total variance. Using the elbow method, k-means clustering determined that the optimal number of clusters was four, thus classifying the 17 cabbage varieties into four distinct groups. This study provides new theoretical and methodological insights for exploring phenotypic trait associations in Chinese cabbage and facilitates the breeding and identification of high-quality varieties. Compared with traditional methods, this system provides significant advantages in terms of accuracy, speed, and comprehensiveness, with its low cost and ease of use making it an ideal replacement for manual methods, being particularly suited for large-scale monitoring and high-throughput phenotyping.

Eggplant seed vigor is a crucial indicator of its germination rate and seedling growth quality. In response to the need for efficient and nondestructive assessment methods, this study explores the use of hyperspectral imaging combined with advanced feature selection and classification algorithms to evaluate eggplant seed viability. Hyperspectral imaging was employed to collect spectral data from eggplant seeds, covering 360 bands within a wavelength range of 395.24–1008.20 nm. The seeds underwent microwave heating and constant-temperature water bath aging treatments. Data preprocessing involved three techniques: Multiplicative Scatter Correction (MSC), Savitzky–Golay (SG) smoothing, and Standard Normal Variate (SNV) transformation. An Enhanced Information Acquisition Optimization (EIAO) algorithm was proposed for feature selection, which successfully identified a minimal set of 23 key wavelengths. Seed vigor classification models were developed using Extreme Learning Machine (ELM), Random Forest (RF), and Support Vector Machine (SVM).The optimal classification accuracies achieved were 90.0% for ELM, 91.45% for RF, and 90.5% for SVM. The MSC-EIAO-RF model demonstrated the best performance, achieving an accuracy of 91.45%, which is 9.04% higher than the MSC-IAO model (82.41%).Validation on four UCI datasets further confirmed the EIAO algorithm's superiority over conventional feature selection methods. These results verify the robustness and generalizability of hyperspectral imaging combined with EIAO for nondestructive seed viability detection, offering an intelligent and efficient solution for seed quality assessment.