Srinagar, Oct 28: In a significant boost to its international research engagement, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir (SKUAST-K) has secured a grant under the Indo-US Collaborative Research Programme to advance AI-powered soybean breeding through smart sensing technologies.
The project, “SoyWatch: Smart Sensing Network for Precision Soybean Breeding,” is jointly supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF), USA, and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Government of India, and brings together leading research institutions from both countries to develop technology-driven approaches for crop monitoring, disease detection and precision breeding.
The three-year project brings together researchers from leading institutions in India and the United States to integrate artificial intelligence (AI) and smart sensing technologies into soybean research and crop improvement. The international consortium comprises investigators from the University of Memphis, the University of Missouri and Kennesaw State University in the United States. The Indian partners include the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi, SKUAST-K and the ICAR-National Soybean Research Institute, Indore.
Representing SKUAST-K in the project are Dr Ajaz Ahmed Lone, Professor, Division of Genetics and Plant Breeding, Dryland Agriculture Research Station (DARS), Rangreth, and Dr Shabir Hussain Wani, Associate Professor, Division of Genetics and Plant Breeding, Mountain Research Centre for Field Crops (MRCFC), Khudwani. Their participation brings the University’s expertise in plant genetics and breeding to an international research effort focused on developing technology-driven solutions for crop improvement.
Prof. Nazir Ahmad Ganai, Vice-Chancellor, SKUAST-K, congratulated the investigators on securing the international grant and commended their contribution to strengthening the university’s research collaborations. He said that engagement with leading institutions in India and the United States would further enhance SKUAST-K’s research capabilities, promote innovation and expand opportunities for collaborative work in emerging areas of agricultural science.
The project aims to establish a smart sensing network integrated with multimodal AI tools to transform field-generated data into actionable insights for plant breeders. The technology is expected to facilitate precise monitoring of crop performance, early identification of pest and disease challenges, and improved yield forecasting. These capabilities can help researchers make more informed breeding decisions, assess crop traits efficiently and accelerate the development of improved soybean varieties.
Scheduled to commence in October 2026, the project will run for three years and draw on the complementary expertise of participating institutions in plant breeding, smart sensing and artificial intelligence.
The grant marks a significant addition to SKUAST-K’s international research engagement and underscores the University’s efforts to advance agricultural research through scientific collaboration and technological innovation.
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