STUDIES ON THE SPREAD OF LATE BLIGHT (PHYTOPHTORA INFESTANS) USING INNOVATIVE MONITORING TECHNOLOGIES

Abstract

The article examines the assessment of the spread and intensity of late blight (Phytophthora infestans) in potato crops using visual field assessment and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)-based remote sensing technologies. The study was conducted in a fungicide efficacy field experiment installed in 2024. The experiment consisted of three test variants, each variant having five test plots. The intensity of late blight was assessed visually using a 0–100 point scale, where 0 means the absence of disease symptoms, and 100 means very severe plant damage.

During the same period, the crop was photographed using a multispectral unmanned aircraft DJI Mavic 3M Enterprise. Multispectral images were recorded in different bands of the electromagnetic spectrum, allowing to assess the condition of plants and vegetation changes. The collected data were processed using webODM software, and the vegetation indices NDVI, NDRE and NGRDI were calculated in the QGIS program for each test plot.

Vegetation index data were compared with visual field assessment results to assess the potential of remote sensing technologies for plant disease monitoring. Statistical data analysis was performed using Microsoft Excel using correlation analysis. The results of the study showed that vegetation indices can be used to assess the spread and intensity of potato blight by remote sensing.