GRIP4PSI
Using Leaf Fungi to Improve Crop Resilience
An interdisciplinary team led by Christine Hawkes is identifying beneficial fungi found in five key crops with the aim of using them to help plants fend off diseases and tolerate drought stress.
Big Data for Better Sweetpotatoes
An interdisciplinary team led by Cranos Williams is setting out on a three-year project to use artificial intelligence to make sweetpotatoes even more profitable. The team will image hundreds of thousands of sweetpotatoes to increase the percentage of sweetpotatoes grown that are USDA grade 1.
Plant Aid: A GRIP4PSI Big-Data Project to Detect Plant Diseases Faster
An interdisciplinary team led by professor Jean Ristaino will combine small sensors with big data for faster detection of the diseases plaguing tomato fields. From a hand-held plant disease ‘sniffer’ to a cloud-based database that can alert farmers about the cause of the stress and suggest possible mitigation strategies, the project aims to detect diseases early, improving yield.
Fertilizer of the Future
An interdisciplinary team led by Katharina Stapelmann is setting out on an ambitious three-year project to completely rethink how nitrogen-based fertilizers are produced and used. From on-farm fertilizer production to on-demand, precision irrigation, their project aims to cut energy use, protect the water supply and increase yields.