A diagrammatic scale was developed and validated to assess the severity of the bacteriose in peach leaves, caused by Xanthomonas arboricola pv. pruni. The scale was elaborated considering the maximum and minimum limits of disease severity observed in the field and the intermediate levels followed logarithmic increments according to the "Stimulus Law by Weber-Fechner". The scale presents six levels of disease severity (0,5; 1,5; 4,3; 12,0; 29,1 and 55,3%) which validation was carried out by seven individuals without previous practice in evaluating of the bacteriose in peach trees. Initially the estimates of severity were performed without the use of the scale in 50 leaves with different levels of severity. Then, the appraisers estimated the severity of the same leaves previously assessed using the proposed diagrammatic scale. Accuracy and precision were determined by linear regression, relating real and estimated severity values. The scale provided good levels of accuracy and precision of visual estimates. The proposed diagrammatic scale was considered adequate to the bacteriose severity in peach trees and it can be used in epidemiological studies and on evaluation for controlling this disease.
pathometry; severity
