Private agri. varsity study selected for showcasing at ISTA meet in Canada

hyderabad

Researchers at Kaveri University, a private agri-tech university at Gowraram in Siddipet district, have developed an advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based seed germination evaluation system that enhances accuracy, speed and objectivity of seed quality testing in major crops such as paddy, maize and bajra, significantly.

The innovative project titled “Automated Seed Germination and Variety Evaluation in Paddy, Maize and Bajra using a compute vision-based germination system” integrates AI-driven computer vision and deep learning models to overcome the limitations of conventional manual germination testing, which is often labour-intensive, time-consuming and subject to human variability, Vice-Chancellor of the university V. Praveen Rao said on Saturday.

According to the VC, the research is being carried out by B. Koushik, a second-year B.Sc. (Hons.) agriculture student under the guidance of two faculty members of the Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding — D. Shivani and A. Kavitha Reddy. The initiative is further strengthened through industry mentorship.

The AI-based germination system has been tested on 62 seed varieties including 32 paddy, 15 maize and 15 bajra varieties and has demonstrated an impressive accuracy of 99%, the university authorities claimed and said it generates automated germination reports and structured digital datasets, improving traceability and supporting data-driven decision making in seed quality assessment and certification processes.

It has received global recognition too with the Zurich-based International Seed Testing Association (ISTA) shortlisting the study among the top 12 projects from more 280 international entries and invited the research team to showcase it at the ISTA Annual Meeting 2026 to be held at Calgary (Alberta) in Canada, scheduled from June 22 to 25.

In a communication sent to the university recently, the ISTA authorities offered to bear full financial responsibility of alL official expenses including international travel, accommodation, local transportation and meeting related logistics for a delegation of four from the university.