Aberystwyth University scientists are developing new artificial intelligence tools that automatically measures plant seed and seed pods in order to breed better crop varieties.

Led by researchers in the Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences and in Computer Science at the University, the study demonstrates the power of targeted applications of artificial intelligence to improve the quality of our crops.

Traditional ways of recording the traits of a plants’ fruit, such as their shape and size, are very labour-intensive, time-consuming, and prone to human error.

Researchers have addressed the challenge with a new AI powered tool that analyses images to recognise seed pods and measure them with high accuracy.

The new tool can measure a range of characteristics, including pod length, width, area and volume, all of which contribute to yield and therefore to profitability.

The research links these physical traits to specific genetic regions that influence pod shape and size, helping scientists pinpoint genes.

Identifying these genes helps scientists better understand how plants grow and develop. Such discoveries provide valuable targets for crop breeding, making it possible to improve traits like yield, shape, and resilience.

These new AI tools could in principle be applied to any plant’s fruit, and researchers have been testing it on the seeds of many crops including, oil seed rape, cabbages, and even cereals such as oats, barley and wheat.

Kieran Atkins, PhD researcher and project lead from IBERS in Aberystwyth University, said: “AI tools like the one we have developed have the potential to revolutionise how we can develop new varieties of crops.

“It really is a game changer. Our algorithm collected data on over 300,000 individual fruits - underscoring the capability of deep learning as a robust tool for phenotyping very large populations.”

“One of the most exciting aspects of this work is how accessible it makes large-scale phenotyping.”