A team of researchers at Maharshi Dayanand University (MDU), Rohtak, has developed an artificial intelligence (AI)-based tool capable of detecting diseases and nutrient deficiencies in bitter gourd leaves, potentially transforming the way farmers monitor crop health.

The study, recently published in the peer-reviewed journal ‘Current Plant Biology’ (Elsevier), highlights how AI-driven innovations can play a crucial role in real-time crop monitoring and precision farming.

The newly developed web-based application, named ‘AgriCure’, is powered by a layered augmentation-enhanced deep learning model. It allows farmers to diagnose crop health by simply uploading or capturing a photograph of a leaf using a smartphone.

“Unlike traditional methods, which are time-consuming and often require expert intervention, AgriCure instantly analyses the image to determine whether the plant is suffering from a disease or nutrient deficiency, and then offers corrective suggestions,” explained the researchers.

The collaborative research project was led by Dr Kamaldeep Joshi, Dr Rainu Nandal and Dr Yogesh Kumar, along with students Sumit Kumar and Varun Kumar from MDU’s University Institute of Engineering and Technology (UIET). It also involved Prof Narendra Tuteja from the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB), New Delhi and Prof Ritu Gill and Prof Sarvajeet Singh Gill from MDU’s Centre for Biotechnology.

MDU Vice-Chancellor, Prof Rajbir Singh, congratulated the research team on their achievement.

According to the researchers, AgriCure can detect major diseases such as downy mildew, leaf spot, and jassid infestation, as well as key nutrient deficiencies like nitrogen, potassium and magnesium.

“This represents a step towards sustainable agriculture, where AI empowers farmers with real-time decision-making tools,” said corresponding authors Prof Ritu Gill and Prof Sarvajeet Singh Gill. They added that the web-based platform can be integrated with mobile devices for direct use in the field.

The team believes that the technology’s core framework can be extended to other crops such as cereals, legumes, and fruits, creating opportunities for wider applications across Indian agriculture.

Looking ahead, they plan to integrate AgriCure with drones and Internet of Things (IoT) devices for large-scale monitoring, and to develop lighter versions of the model for full offline use on mobile phones.