Agricultural Research Grant Awardee 2024

RAISE - Rice AI Stress Evaluator

Dr B. Sailaja,

ICAR-Indian Institute of Rice Research, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad, Telangana

Rice is the most important crop in India. Biotic and abiotic stresses play a crucial role in limiting rice production. Farmers often struggle to identify these stresses, leading to delays in diagnosis and treatment. AI can revolutionize farming by shifting from traditional to innovative practices and Mobile phones are becoming increasingly common among farmers for sharing information. The proposed solution is an AI-powered mobile application designed to assist farmers in diagnosing and managing rice crop stresses in real-time. The app will utilize Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) and ensemble AI models to analyse images of rice crop infections and provide timely advisories in both text and voice formats.

The app will maintain high accuracy by combining a huge image database of biotic and abiotic stresses with domain-specific insights and continuously updated through auto-training and labelling modules. The app will cover major insect pests, diseases, and weeds, nematode, as well as nutrient deficiencies, offering management advice for each.
This app will be a valuable tool for farmers, helping them accurately diagnose significant stresses and make informed crop management decisions on time. Additionally, the app’s database will be crucial in identifying hotspot areas for various stresses and assisting in the development of resistant varieties and other technologies to mitigate these challenges.

Collaborators

Entomology

Dr. Ch. Padmavathi

Principal Scientist (Entomology)

Dr. A. P. Padma Kumari

Principal Scientist & Head (Entomology)

Pathology

Dr. D. Krishnaveni

Principal Scientist (Pathology)

Dr. Gouri Sankar Iaha

Principal Scientist (Pathology)

Dr. M. S. Prasad

Principal Scientist & Head (Pathology)

Agronomy

Dr. B. Sreedevi

Principal Scientist (Agronomy)

Dr. R. Mahender Kumar

Principal Scientist & Head (Agronomy)

Soil Science

Dr. V. Manasa

Scientist (Soil Science)

Dr. Brajendra

Principal Scientist (Soil Science)

Nematology

Dr. N. Somasekhar

Principal Scientist (Nematology)

Agricultural Statistics

Dr. Santosha Rathod

Scientist (Agricultural Statistics)

India is rapidly transforming into a dynamic hub of intellectual innovation and discovery. To support the science and technology ecosystem in the country, the Sree Padmavathi Venkateswara Foundation has created peer- reviewed funding programs that recognize exceptional researchers with the potential to achieve ground-breaking results in areas of critical national
importance. Our foundation provides these researchers with generous funding and empowering mentorship to generate knowledge and develop sustainable solutions of the highest quality, particularly in the fields of biomedical and agricultural research. We also work on projects to deploy advanced knowledge and improve the income of small and marginal farmers. We believe that by working together, we can create sustainable solutions that will benefit not only India but also the world.

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