Detection of pitted morningglory (Ipomoea lacunosa) with hyperspectral remote sensing.: II.: Effects of vegetation ground cover and reflectance properties

Field research was conducted to determine the potential of hyperspectral remote sensing for discriminating plots of soybean intermixed with pitted morningglory and weed-free soybean with similar and different proportions of vegetation ground cover. Hyperspectral data were collected using a handheld spectroradiometer when pitted morningglory was in the cotyledon to two-leaf, two- to four-leaf, and four- to six-leaf growth stages. Synthesized reflectance measurements containing equal and unequal proportions of reflectance from vegetation were obtained, and seven 50-nm spectral bands (one ultraviolet, two visible, and four near-infrared) derived from each hyperspectral reflectance measurement were used as discrimination variables to differentiate weed-free soybean and soybean intermixed with pitted morningglory. Discrimination accuracy was 93 to 100% regardless of pitted morningglory growth stage and whether equal or unequal proportions of reflectance from vegetation existed in weed-free soybean and soybean intermixed with pitted morningglory. Discrimination accuracy was 88 to 98% when using the discriminant model developed for one experiment to discriminate soybean intermixed with pitted morningglory and weedfree soybean plots of the other experiment. Reflectance in the near-infrared spectrum was higher for weed-free soybean compared with soybean intermixed with pitted morningglory, and this difference affected the ability to discriminate weed-free soybean from soybean intermixed with pitted morningglory.