diff --git a/utils/datasets.py b/utils/datasets.py
index 1755b177..e2af1aae 100755
--- a/utils/datasets.py
+++ b/utils/datasets.py
@@ -507,8 +507,9 @@ def load_image(self, index):
         assert img is not None, 'Image Not Found ' + img_path
         h0, w0 = img.shape[:2]  # orig hw
         r = self.img_size / max(h0, w0)  # resize image to img_size
-        if r < 1 or (self.augment and (r != 1)):  # always resize down, only resize up if training with augmentation
-            img = cv2.resize(img, (int(w0 * r), int(h0 * r)), interpolation=cv2.INTER_LINEAR)
+        if r < 1 or (self.augment and r != 1):  # always resize down, only resize up if training with augmentation
+            interp = cv2.INTER_AREA if r < 1 and not self.augment else cv2.INTER_LINEAR
+            img = cv2.resize(img, (int(w0 * r), int(h0 * r)), interpolation=interp)
         return img, (h0, w0), img.shape[:2]  # img, hw_original, hw_resized
     else:
         return self.imgs[index], self.img_hw0[index], self.img_hw[index]  # img, hw_original, hw_resized