Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology
Envirotyping and Digitalization
The environment plays a major role in the productivity of both plants and animals. Better understanding and characterization of the environmental variability and effects of climate change on agricultural productivity is of vital importance for achieving Russia’s (and, in fact, the world’s) food safety and sustainability goals. Development of cutting-edge digital tools such as for enhanced yield prediction algorithms; selection and breeding of crop varieties better suited for location-specific conditions; identification of optimal sites for growing new crops; management of resources based on improved characterization of needs; early prediction of disease/pest potential; and limiting postharvest disease and damage are some of the ways agricultural producers are helped to a significant extent.
Industrial competencies
Smart yield forecast for agricultural crops. Incorporating data from multiple sources (remote sensing, and on ground; historical and current; measurements and projections) to factor in the effects of environmental variability and climate change in forecasting crop yields at the beginning of the season and for the next few years. Further, providing advisories to the farm operator about optimal fertilizer and water application rates and timings, crop rotation schema, and disease/pest warnings to increase efficiency, and reduce costs and wastage.
Agro Informatics for managers. Providing easily comprehensible visuals and analytics for managers to understand the situation in their holdings at a glance. Helps make better decisions regarding optimal distribution of resources and identification of pain points.
Envirotyping for improved genome-based selection. Assisting modern plant breeding and selection by providing location-specific stressors and beneficial factors to develop hardy, more productive varieties.
Computer vision for post-harvest damage detection in fruits. Early detection of damage in fruits by applying computer vision techniques to multispectral imagery in storage areas. Helps prevent widespread losses due to spreading of toxins.
