By Seth Truscott
Using the power of artificial intelligence (AI) to process vast amounts of complex data, scientists at Washington State University aim to speed up the breeding of higher-yielding wheat crops.
Zhiwu Zhang, professor in the Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, leads a team of scientists in the U.S., India, and Japan as they harness neural networks — computer models that mimic how the brain processes information — to analyze massive amounts of data on wheat genetics, performance, and environmental conditions. Their work is part of a new National Science Foundation (NSF) initiative bridging AI and agriculture.
“Wheat feeds billions worldwide,” Zhang said. “It provides a fifth of global calories, yet breeders are only able to boost yields by about 1% annually.”
Zhang, who specializes in developing AI and statistical tools and models for wheat breeders, aims to better that number. Part of the first cohort of NSF’s Advancing Innovations for Empowering NextGen AGriculturE (AI-ENGAGE) initiative, he received a $400,000 grant to develop a new, open-source computer system that can process a thousandfold more data than conventional techniques.
Source : wsu.edu