Plant Village - PSU
PlantVillage is a research and development unit of Penn State University that empowers smallholder farmers and seeks to lift them out of poverty using cheap, affordable technology and democratizing the access to knowledge that can help them grow more food.
The rich countries of the world were once populated by smallholder farmers who practiced subsistence agriculture and suffered massive yield losses due to diseases and pests. An iconic example are the Irish of 1847. But in 2017 Ireland was recognized as the most food secure nation in the world.
Today, 171 years later the situation for many farmers in Africa is no different to that of the Irish of 1847. But today the world has amazing technology from AI to drones to mobile phones. The world also has a lot more knowledge of growing more food. At PlantVillage we aim make this available to smallholder farmers.
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PlantVillage is a research and development unit of Penn State University that empowers smallholder farmers and seeks to lift them out of poverty using cheap, affordable technology and democratizing the access to knowledge that can help them grow more food. The rich countries of the world were...
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Androidand Apple PlantVillage Nuru is a publically supported, and publically developed application that uses a digital assistant to help farmers diagnose crop disease in the field, without an internet connection. Developed at Penn State University the app uses Google’s Tensorflow machine learning...
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Android FarmerZone is the Dept. of Biotechnology’s (Govt. of India) vision of a cloud service that will offer AI-based advisories to help smallholder farmers increase their total farm productivity. The app provides advisories related to crop health, desired growing conditions, preferred seed...
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Okra,Abelmoschus esculentus, is an herbaceous annual plant in the family Malvaceae which is grown for its edible seed pods. Okra plants have small erect stems that can be bristly or hairless with heart-shaped leaves. The leaves are 10–20 cm (4–8 in) long with 5–7 lobes The plant produces flowers...
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Garlic,Allium sativum, is a an herbaceous, annual, bulbous plant in the familyAmaryllidaceaegrown for its pungent, edible bulb of the same name. The garlic plant can either have a short, woody central stem (hardneck) or a softer pseudostem made up of overlapping leaf sheaths (softneck). Hardneck...
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Sunflower,Helianthus annuus, is an herbaceous annual plant in the family Asteraceae, grown for its seeds. The plant has a thick, hairy, erect stem which gives rise to a large flower head. The plant has large, broad lower leaves which are oval and arranged alternately on the stem and smaller,...
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Squash is the collective name given to several species of plant in the genusCucurbita, includingC. maxima,C. mixta,C. moschataandC. pepo, which are widely grown for their edible fruit. Squash plants are are herbaceous annual plants which are either trailing vines or bush-like in morphology. Vines...
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Dill,Anethum graveolens, is an herbaceous annual in the family Apiaceae grown for its leaves which are used as a herb. Dill is a very aromatic plant with an erect growth habit. It possess branching stems and fine, soft, fibre-like leaves which are arranged into an open cone and are blue-green in...
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Corn,Zea mays, is an annual grass in the family Poaceae and is a staple food crop grown all over the world. The corn plant possesses a simple stem of nodes and internodes. A pair of large leaves extends off of each internode and the leaves total 8–21 per plant. The leaves are linear or lanceolate...
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Mango,Mangifera indica, is an evergreen tree in the family Anacardiaceae grown for its edible fruit. The mango tree is erect and branching with a thick trunk and broad, rounded canopy. The leaves of the tree are are shiny and dark green. They are either elliptical or lanceolate with long petioles...
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The chickpea,Cicer arietinum, is a leguminous annual plant in the family Fabaceae grown for its edible seeds. The plant has a branched, straight or bending stem with small feathery leaves arranged alternately on the stem. The leaves are composed of 11–15 individual leaflets which are oval in...
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Teff,Eragrostis tef, is a warm season annual grass in the family Poaceae grown for its grain which can be ground into flour. The teff plant characteristically possesses a large crown and many tillers (lateral offshoots originating from the base of the stem). The plant is fine stemmed and grows in...
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Teff,Eragrostis tef, is a warm season annual grass in the family Poaceae grown for its grain which can be ground into flour. The teff plant characteristically possesses a large crown and many tillers (lateral offshoots originating from the base of the stem). The plant is fine stemmed and grows in...
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Pigeonpea,Cajanus cajan, is a perennial shrub in the family Fabaceae grown for its edible pods and seeds. Pigeonpea is a highly branched shrub with a woody base, slender stems and trifoliate leaves. The plant leaflets are oblong or elliptical in shape and the leaves are alternate and arranged...
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Sorghum,Sorghum bicolor, is an annual or perennial grass in the family Poaceae grown primarily for its grain. Sorghum has an erect solid stem with one or more tillers (additional shoot that grows subsequent to the parent shoot) and curving leaves which are arranged alternately on the stems and...
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Peanut,Arachis hypogaea, is an herbaceous annual plant in the family Fabaceae grown for its oil and edible nuts. Peanut plants are small, usually erect, thin stemmed plants with feather-like leaves. The leaves are arranged in alternate pairs and have leaf-like attachments near the stalk. The...
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Onion,Allium cepa, is an herbaceous biennial in the family Liliaceae grown for its edible bulb. The stem of the plant is a flattened disc at the base and the tubular leaves form a pseudostem where their sheaths overlap. The leaves are either erect or oblique and there are 3–8 per plant. The onion...
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Finger millet,Eleusine coracana, is an annual grass in the family Poaceae which is grown for its grain which can be used for food or for brewing. Finger millet is a robust tillering grass which grows in tufts. It has erect, light green stems. The leaves of the plant are dark green, linear and...
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Cowpea,Vigna unguiculata, is a climbing annual in the family Fabaceae grown for its edible seeds and pods. The cowpea plant is usually erect and possess ribbed stems and smooth trifoliate leaves which are arranged alternately on the stems. The plant produces clusters of flowers at the end of a...
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Pearl millet,Pennisetum glaucum, is an annual grass in the family Poaceae which is grown widely in Africa and India for its grain which can be used to make flour and other foodstuffs. Pearl millet is a very robust grass which tillers widely and grows in tufts. It has slender stems which are...