US, India Partner on AI-Powered Soybean Research
Washington — A University of Memphis computer science professor has received more than $528,000 from the National Science Foundation for a U.S.-India research project aimed at developing artificial intelligence and smart-sensing technologies for precision soybean breeding.
Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., announced Thursday that Xiaolei Huang, Ph.D., a professor of computer science at the University of Memphis, was awarded $528,137 for the three-year project.
The initiative, titled “SoyWatch: Smart Sensing Network for Precision Soybean Breeding,” is being conducted under a joint research program involving the NSF and India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.
The project is scheduled to begin Oct. 1 and continue through Sept. 30, 2029.
“I congratulate Professor Huang for being awarded this prestigious National Science Foundation funding,” Cohen said. “His research efforts will improve soybean yields and productivity, which will help feed the ever-growing population of our planet.”
Cohen also welcomed India’s participation, citing the country’s role in the Green Revolution and its efforts to improve agricultural productivity.
The project will develop an integrated farming system that uses sensors, advanced wireless communications, drones and artificial intelligence to monitor soybean crops and soil conditions in real time.
Researchers hope the technology will help address problems affecting soybean production in the United States and India, including pests, crop diseases and increasingly unpredictable weather.
The proposed system will allow plant breeders to evaluate crop performance more precisely and make better-informed decisions throughout the breeding process.
The research team includes investigators from the University of Memphis, the University of Missouri, Kennesaw State University, the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir, and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research’s National Soybean Research Institute.
The project has three main components. Researchers will first develop sensor arrays capable of measuring soil nutrients, moisture levels and environmental conditions.
A second group will design energy-efficient wireless communication systems using drone-assisted data collection and passive sensing technologies to monitor large agricultural fields.
The third component will focus on developing multimodal large language models that combine sensor readings, drone imagery and environmental data to support crop phenotyping, pest management and yield forecasting.
The NSF said the technologies will eventually be combined into a single toolkit that can generate data-driven agricultural insights for farmers, breeders and researchers.
The project is also expected to strengthen scientific cooperation between the United States and India and provide training opportunities for students in agriculture, engineering and artificial intelligence.
Researchers aim to use the system to support the development of higher-yielding and pest-resistant soybean varieties, potentially improving food security and rural economies in both countries.
The United States and India have expanded scientific cooperation in recent years in areas including agriculture, clean energy, semiconductors, artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies.
Soybeans are a major global commodity used for food, animal feed and edible oil. Both countries are investing in precision agriculture and AI-enabled farming to improve productivity while responding to climate change, resource constraints and rising food demand. (Source: IANS)
