Drones, DNA, and weather: A phase-oriented hybrid engine predicts sugar beet disease‎

A fungus that can wipe out up to 50% of a sugar beet crop may soon meet its match in a new generation of smart disease forecasting. A new study published in Phytopathology shows how combining drone imagery, weather data, and qPCR-based airborne spore monitoring can reveal where disease is present and what the pathogen is likely to do next—giving growers a critical edge in timing control measures.