Presentation: 2025 ND EPSCoR Annual conference
October 21, 2025, NDSU Memorial Union, Fargo, North Dakota
Comparative Analysis of Brassica Cover Crops for Bio-fumigation Using UAV-Based Vegetation Monitoring
Ahmed
Rabia
Faculty Member
North Dakota State University
Co-authors: Yoko George Kosugi, North Dakota State University, Mohamed Abdallah Salem, North Dakota State University, Sergio Cabello Leiva, Director of Research, Minnesota Soybean Research and Promotion Council, Szilvia Yuja, Researcher, Carrington Research Extension Center, North Dakota State University, Ahmed Harb Rabia, North Dakota State University
Session
Poster number: 24
Ballroom
Bio-fumigation with Brassica cover crops offers a sustainable strategy to suppress soil-borne pathogens and improve crop performance, but its effectiveness is strongly influenced by biomass production and canopy development. Remote sensing tools such as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and vegetation indices provide rapid and objective means to quantify cover crop growth in field experiments. A randomized complete block design with four replications was established to evaluate the bio-fumigation potential of winter camelina (Camelina sativa ‘Joelle’), pennycress (Thlaspi arvense), radish (Raphanus sativus), and a no-cover control in a soybean rotation system (2024–2025). High resolution UAV imagery was collected using an Inspire Flight IF800 quadcopter drone equipped with a Sentera 6X multispectral sensor. Data were collected from research plots in Carrington, ND, on April 16th. The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and percent vegetation cover were extracted from stitched orthomosaics and processed in ArcGIS Pro. Data were analyzed to compare canopy development across treatments and assess spatial variation within the experimental field. For each treatment, average vegetation cover percentages and biomass were calculated across replications. Winter camelina exhibited the highest relative vegetation cover (41.15%) and biomass contribution (31.49%), followed by the mixed treatment of winter camelina and pennycress (31.96% vegetation; 29.82% biomass) and the combination of winter camelina, pennycress, and radish (25.64% vegetation; 27.93% biomass). Pennycress alone showed minimal relative vegetation (0.97%) and biomass (10.77%). These results highlight winter camelina as the most promising cover crop for bio-fumigation due to its dominant biomass and vegetation