Dr. P Rama Chandra Prasad published a paper on Harnessing AI and Remote sensing for precision sugarcane farming: tackling water stress, salinity, and nitrogen challenges in the journal Frontiers in Agronomy. The other authors of this paper are – Vinayaka, Statistics and Economics Section, ICAR-Sugarcane Breeding Institute, Tamil Nadu; G Avinash, Executive Chairman & CEO, Avyagraha Research and Analytics LLP, Ramasagara, Karnataka; Amaresh, Division of Crop Improvement, ICAR-Sugarcane Breeding Institute, Tamil Nadu; R Arun Kumar, Plant Physiology Section, ICAR-Sugarcane Breeding Institute, Tamil Nadu; P Murali, Statistics and Economics Section, ICAR-Sugarcane Breeding Institute, Tamil Nadu, C Palaniswami, Soil Science Section, ICAR-Sugarcane Breeding Institute, Tamil Nadu and P Govindaraj, Division of Crop Improvement, ICAR-Sugarcane Breeding Institute, Tamil Nadu.

Here is the summary of the paper as explained by the authors:

The paper reviews advanced integration of artificial intelligence and remote sensing for precision monitoring of water stress, salinity, and nitrogen deficiency in sugarcane agriculture. It evaluates multispectral, hyperspectral, UAV, and thermal imagery along with machine learning and deep learning models for stress detection and evapotranspiration estimation. The study highlights the effectiveness of spectral indices and energy balance models for mapping stress conditions and optimizing irrigation and nutrient management. It concludes that AI-driven remote sensing enhances productivity, resource efficiency, and sustainability in sugarcane cultivation.

  November 2025