Utilizing Vegetation Indices to Assess Brown Rust Disease Infection on Leaves of Sugarcane Crops in Maharashtra State of India

Sugarcane is a key cash crop in the Maharashtra state and a substantial contributor to its agricultural economy. But also, sugarcane yield is put to great risk by brown rust disease which is a fungal disease caused by the pathogen Puccinia Melanocephala. The main purpose of this study is to utilize vegetation indices from multispectral imagery to quantify the amount of brown rust disease spread in sugarcane plantations. A survey of a 2-acre sugarcane field which is located in Maharashtra, India is carried out using a multispectral drone to produce an orthomosaic. NDVI, NDRE, GNDVI, GLI, and SAVI such vegetation indices are calculated. Further, these indices are used to assess disease severity. The disease severity map demonstrates that these vegetation indices precisely detect and quantify the spread of brown rust disease infection in sugarcane plantations. These indices offer a scalable and trustworthy way for monitoring disease in precision agriculture.