By Andi Anderson
Soybean farmers face many challenges that can reduce crop yields and profits, including diseases that often remain hidden until significant damage has already occurred. To address this problem, researchers at Southern Illinois University (SIU) are developing advanced technology that can identify soybean diseases before visible symptoms appear.
Billy Ram, assistant professor of precision agriculture, and his doctoral student, Samuel Singh, are developing a robot powered by artificial intelligence (AI) to identify soybean diseases before visible symptoms emerge.
Their goal is to create a robot equipped with artificial intelligence (AI) that can detect diseases early and provide farmers with valuable information to protect their crops. The research is supported through funding from the Illinois Soybean Center.
Illinois is the leading soybean-producing state in the United States, with thousands of farmers depending on successful harvests for their livelihoods. However, soybean diseases caused by soil-borne fungi can significantly reduce crop production. These diseases often spread through rainfall and attack plants before symptoms become visible on leaves or stems.
According to Ram, “If a disease overpowers your field, late-stage fungicide application is not very efficient. Once the disease attacks the farmer’s crops, the yield can be reduced to 60 to 70%. It has a real economic impact.”
The research team initially used drones carrying hyperspectral and multispectral cameras to monitor soybean fields affected by frogeye leaf spot disease. However, the cameras could not effectively capture lesions located underneath leaves or near plant stems.
“At the end of the day, we’re only working with cameras,” Ram said about the research which received funding through the Illinois Soybean Center. “We’re solving an engineering problem more than an agronomic problem. The challenge is how efficiently can you collect a large source of data while the equipment is traveling the field.”
To overcome this limitation, the team designed a battery-powered robot equipped with GPS technology and multiple cameras. The robot can travel through soybean rows, capture detailed images from different angles, and operate autonomously using preloaded field maps.
“The robot should be able to drive down the field, keep track of each plant, identify if the plant has a disease and which type, and then share what percentage of the crop is diseased,” Ram said.
Researchers are now developing AI models that will allow the robot to identify diseases such as frogeye leaf spot with high precision. The technology is expected to create disease maps that show infected areas within fields.
“I want to design maps that help farmers detect hot spots, so farmers can see the hot spots and know what site-specific areas to apply fungicides instead of spraying all over the field,” said Singh.
Singh believes technology can provide practical solutions for modern agriculture. “As an engineer, we love working on solutions that actually help people, not just something that sounds good on paper,” said Singh. “The future means humans using robots to make life easier and more efficient.”
The project also reflects SIU’s commitment to advanced agricultural research following its Research 1 designation. Researchers believe innovations in robotics and AI will help farmers make better decisions, reduce disease-related losses, and improve soybean production in the years ahead.
Photo Credit: istock-dusanpetkovic
Categories: Illinois, Sustainable Agriculture