The New AI Tool Can Predict Climate Change And Diagnose Crop Diseases

Researchers in the Penn State have developed an Artificial Intelligence (AI) tool that can help farmers predict crop productivity, as well as reduce the impact of climate warming onto staple crops including beans, cassava, and maize.

They refer to the AI tool as “PlantVillage Nuru”. It has been widely used in Africa to provide a vital diagnosis of crop diseases.

The researchers conducted many strict tests to check the capabilities of machine learning (ML) models, along with locally sourced smart devices according to the current natural conditions African farms have to face, from temperature to light.

According to their findings, the accuracy in the diagnosis results of this AI app is twice as high as that given by human experts. In other words, farmers will have more chances to detect issues timely on their farms.

Associate Professor of Entomology and Biology David Hughes stated:

Besides, the AI tool “PlantVillage Nuru” leverages data from Water Productivity through Open access of Remotely sensed derived data (or WaPOR) portal of the United Nations. This portal has gathered data from NASA’s satellites and metrics concerning crop productivity based on the current water source.

One of the most prominent characteristics of this AI tool is its capability to combine many various data streams with each other to offer information relating to crops’ drought tolerance, as well as what kinds of crops should be planted in a specific area.

Also, farmers can get necessary advice from this app to get more about crops, such as their capabilities to struggle against climate changes, which irrigation method is the best suitable and affordable one, how to reduce the impacts of flood, what kinds of effective strategies should be applied to conserve soil, and more.

In addition to the phone app, farmers can also choose to access the AI tool via a webpage.