| The downy mildew, caused by Pseudoperonospora cubensis, is an important melon disease in Northeast Brazil. Considering the lack of standard methods for its assessment, a diagrammatic scale was developed with 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 82, and 96% of affected leaf area. The scale was then checked for its accuracy, precision, and reproducibility in estimating downy mildew severity. The diagrammatic scale was validated by eight disease raters; using 50 leaves with different severity levels, previously measured using the software Assess®. Two evaluations were performed on the same set of leaves, but in a different sequence order, by the same raters, within a 15-day interval. The accuracy and precision of each rater was determined by simple linear regression between... |
