Leveraging Artificial Intelligence for Enhancing Wheat Yield Resilience Amidst Climate Change in Sub-Saharan Africa

The introduction of a deep learning-based method for non-destructive leaf area index (LAI) assessment has enhanced rapid estimation for wheat and similar crops, aiding crop growth monitoring, water, and nutrient management. Convolutional Neural Network (CNN)-based algorithms enable accurate, non-destructive quantification of seedling leaf areas and assess LAI across diverse genotypes and environments, demonstrating adaptability. Transfer learning, known for efficiency in plant phenotyping, was tested as a resource-saving approach for training the wheat LAI model. These advancements support wheat breeding, facilitate genotype selection for varied environments, accelerate genetic gains, and enhance genomic selection for LAI. By capturing diverse environments, this method can improve wheat resilience to climate change. Additionally, advances in machine learning and data science enable better prediction and distribution mapping of global wheat rust pathogens, a major agricultural challenge. Accurate risk identification allows for timely and effective control measures. Moreover, wheat lodging prediction models using CNNs can assess lodging-prone varieties, influencing selection decisions to improve yield stability. These artificial intelligence-driven techniques contribute to sustainable crop growth and yield enhancement, especially in the context of climate change and increasing global food demand.