By Blake Jackson
Cornell University-led research is advancing programmable plant systems that could help farmers monitor crop health, conserve resources and respond more effectively to changing environmental conditions.
According to Krishna Ramanujan of the Cornell Chronicle, the Center for Research on Programmable Plant Systems (CROPPS) has received a five-year grant of nearly $22.5 million from the National Science Foundation to continue developing technologies that enable two-way communication between plants and people.
The new funding renews a $25 million grant awarded to CROPPS in 2021. The interdisciplinary center brings together plant scientists, engineers and computer specialists from Cornell University and five partner institutions to develop technologies that connect plant biology with digital monitoring and agricultural management.
“Our definition of programmable plant systems focuses on plant-to-human communication where these communications are from the internal biology of a plant to humans using digital tools, or from a human to a plant’s inner biology,” said Abraham Stroock ’95, the Gordon L. Dibble ’50 Professor in the Cornell Duffield College of Engineering and principal investigator and director of CROPPS.
One major project, led by co-principal investigator Margaret Frank, focuses on helping farmers identify nitrogen deficiencies in tomato plants. Researchers have developed plants whose leaves turn red when nitrogen levels become insufficient, providing a visible signal for fertilizer application.
Field trials began in 2025 at Cornell and the University of Arizona, where drone imaging successfully captured the plants’ responses.
“Ecologically and economically, agricultural inputs are extremely expensive for us as a society,” said co-principal investigator (co-PI) Margaret Frank, Ph.D. ’14, associate professor in the School of Integrative Plant Science in the Plant Biology Section in CALS.
Researchers are also investigating ways to monitor water stress and regulate plant responses to environmental conditions. A project led by Jesse Woodson and Stroock explores how plants respond to stress signals, including drought and pest damage.
Future applications could allow farmers to encourage crops to close their leaf pores, known as stomates, before hot, dry weather to reduce water loss.
Another initiative, led by Arjun Khakhar of Colorado State University and Anthony Studer of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, examines how root systems and leaf structures could be adjusted during the growing season to improve water access, light capture and weed management.
CROPPS also supports educational programs that demonstrate how plant stress signals can be detected and converted into digital messages.
By combining biotechnology, automation, drone imaging and computing, researchers aim to reduce unnecessary fertilizer and water use while improving crop productivity and developing more responsive agricultural systems.
Photo Credit: savan-desouza
Categories: New York, Crops, Education