Source: NCSU COLLEGE OF AG & LIFE SCIENCES, 5/27/20


A GRIP4PSI Project to Increase the Value of Sweetpotatoes
When it comes to growing sweetpotatoes, North Carolina is a superstar – growing more than the next three states combined.

An interdisciplinary team of researchers at NC State is setting out on an ambitious three-year project that will use artificial intelligence to make sweetpotatoes even more profitable.

The team will work with sweetpotato producers and CALS’ research stations to image hundreds of thousands of sweetpotatoes and then calculate their shape and quality characteristics.

Led by Cranos Williams, a researcher in NC State’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, the team will then combine all of that image data with a host of additional information. When and where were the sweetpotatoes planted? How were they fertilized? What has the weather been like? The researchers can then use advanced machine learning algorithms to determine which factors impact sweetpotato size and shape. Ultimately the goal is to increase the percentage of sweetpotatoes that are USDA grade 1, and thus most profitable for growers.

“Our first step starts with the stakeholders, where we are focused on understanding their values and identifying the things that would improve their profitability,” Williams said. “By understanding what our stakeholders value, we can provide input on how growers, producers and distributors can optimize their processes to potentially reduce the occurrence of misshaped sweetpotatoes.

This will translate to decreased waste and increased value.”

Khara Grieger, a senior researcher in the Genetic Engineering and Society Center, is an expert in the intersection of science and society, particularly concerning emerging technologies. She will lead efforts engaging with stakeholders in conjunction with Anders Huseth, a researcher and Extension specialist in the Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology.

The team, including Mike Boyette a Philip Morris Professor of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, has identified quite a number of different factors that might impact sweetpotato shape and size and overall value, but they need to leverage the power of big data and machine learning to be able to sort the metaphorical wheat from the chaff.

The project is one of four interdisciplinary projects selected by NC State’s Office of Research and Innovation to receive seed funding to address the global challenges facing agriculture identified by the North Carolina Plant Sciences Initiative (N.C. PSI).

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