Supporting the Hands That Sustain Us: AI for Crop Health

December 2025

Growing up, I watched my Indian family of farmers work tirelessly to feed their communities. I also witnessed how devastating plant diseases could be. Globally, fungal diseases and insect infestations cause 10–16% of crop losses, threatening food security and the livelihoods of countless farmers.

Through the USC Center for AI in Society’s Student Branch (CAIS++), I collaborated with Cole Sevier and Annie Gao to develop a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) model that classifies guava crop images based on health condition. The model identifies three categories:

• Fungal disease (Anthracnose)

• Fruit fly infestation

• Healthy crops

By empowering farmers with early detection tools, we hope to support more sustainable, resilient farming practices.