NC State Plant Sciences Initiative Developing AI Resources for Agriculture

Jul 10, 2024

By Lily Burton

Researchers at North Carolina State University and the N.C. Plant Sciences Initiative (PSI) are working to bring artificial intelligence technologies to agriculture.

AI has many potential applications in agriculture. But the industry doesn’t currently have the same resources that have enabled AI development in other fields. NC State researchers are trying to change that.

Chris Reberg-Horton, the Platform Director for the PSI at NC State, is working with his team to collect images of weeds that will be used to teach AI-powered equipment to recognize them and differentiate them from other plants.

“We have a robot set up that drives across an area that has lots of different weed species planted in pots out there,” he said. “And so, we can image, right now, about 500 pots a day through that system.”

Reberg-Horton said existing high tech agricultural equipment has the potential to observe and deliver precise care for individual plants.

“What's been missing is the knowledge and intelligence of field conditions to be able to inform that smart equipment of what to do,” he said. “And so, I really think that, you know, AI, and specifically, computer vision is one of the missing pieces in that.”

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Video: Our Own On-Farm Research Is the Best Source - Managing White Mold in Northeast Nebraska

If you assumed Nebraska was too hot and dry for white mold to be a problem in soybeans, think again.

This week we're featuring Galen Samuelson, a farmer and dealer from Wakefield, Nebraska, who knows all too well how devastating white mold can be.

"We don't have it consistently every year, but with our temperature and humidity, it can hurt us quite bad," Samuelson says. Looking for alternatives, he explains, "What I like about Heads Up is that it's non-harmful to the beneficial fungal colonies in the soil." Galen has been using Heads Up for several years now, after first hearing about it through a small ad in a regional newspaper. Watch below to hear about his journey.

When asked to write about Samuelson Seed, Galen said the following:

"Samuelson Seed is a 4th-generation, family-based company. It started with my grandfather, and I'm now starting to pass the torch to my son, Caleb."

"In the early 1990s, I started working with a company whose focus was on plant and soil health before those benefits were widely known. I've continued to keep plant and soil health the main focus in our farming operation decisions."