About Institute for Precision Agriculture (IPA)

Research, Extension and Teaching

This is a preliminary and non-comprehensive list of the activities conducted at Louisiana State University (LSU) related to Precision Agriculture, Remote Sensing, Crop Modeling and Applications of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to Agriculture, divided into research, teaching and extension.

Research:

• On Farm Precision Agriculture Research focusing on the development of variable rate input solutions.
• Machine learning approaches for crop yield prediction using automated on farm data collection.
• Deep learning techniques applied to remote sensing data for crop management.
• Use of AI for high throughput phenotyping studies.
• Applications of Neural Networks and Support Vector Machines to analyze cover crop influences in soybeans.
• Integration of crop modeling, remote sensing and nutrient management data using AI approaches.

Extension:

• We organize a yearly Digital Agriculture Conference, in central Louisiana (Alexandria) since 2018 to share research information with farmers and peers.
• Validation and tests of new sensors and devices are conducted with public and private partnership.
• We have connected with the USDA Risk Management Agency to provide consultations on the applications of AI tools in their structured database.

Teaching:

• Developing the curricula and concentration area called Crop Science and Precision Agriculture to embrace the Digital Agriculture thematic that includes AI under the department of Agronomy and Horticulture (School of Plant, Environmental and Soil Sciences – SPESS).
• The curriculum pathway for the concentration area will require courses outside SPESS, mainly Experimental Statistics, Biosystem Engineering, Computer Science, Geography and Mechanical and Industrial Engineering.