Application of near-infrared spectroscopy for the detection of internal insect infestation in Picea abies seed lots

The use of near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy to discriminate between uninfested seeds of Picea abies (L.) Karst and seeds infested with Plemeliella abietina Seitn (Hymenoptera, Torymidae) larva is sensitive to seed origin and year of collection. Five seed lots collected during different years from Sweden, Finland, and Belarus were used in this study. Initially, seeds were classified as infested or uninfested with X-radiography, and then, NIR spectra from single seeds were collected with a NIR spectrometer from 1100 to 2498 nm with a resolution of 2 nm. Discriminant models were derived by partial least squares regression using raw and orthogonal signal corrected spectra (OSC). The resulting OSC model developed on a pooled data set was more robust than the raw model and resulted in 100% classification accuracy. Once irrelevant spectral variations were removed by using OSC pretreatment, single-lot calibration models resulted in similar classification rates for the new samples irrespective of origin and year of collection. Dis criminant analyses performed with selected NIR absorption bands also gave nearly 100% classification rate for new samples. The origin of spectral differences between infested and uninfested seeds was attributed to storage lipids and proteins that were completely depleted in the former by the feeding larva.