Artificial Intelligence in Crop Water Management: A Path to Conservation and Productivity

Author Biography

R. K. Naresh is affiliated with the Department of Agronomy, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel University of Agriculture and Technology, Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, India. He has published more than 300 research papers in national and international journals and authored and edited more than 65 books covering topics including conservation agriculture, soil health management, integrated nutrient and pest management, and precision farming. His research focuses on crop management, resource conservation, and climate-resilient agriculture. He has collaborated extensively with the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), Philippines, the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), Mexico, the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), India, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), India, and the Uttar Pradesh Council of Agricultural Research (UPCAR), India. He served as Nodal Officer of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) Project for Western Uttar Pradesh, India. R. K. Gupta is affiliated with Lovely Professional University, Jalandhar, Punjab, India. He earned his B.Sc. in Agriculture in 1983, M.Sc. in Soil Science in 1985, and Ph.D. in 1998 from Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, Punjab, India. His research focuses on integrated nutrient management, fertilizer use efficiency, crop residue management, and biochar technology in rice-wheat cropping systems. He has published 100 research articles, one review paper, four books, seven book chapters, four research bulletins, and 155 extension articles. He has handled 14 national and international projects and mentored 15 postgraduate students. He received the Ch. Devi Lal ICAR Award in 2010, the FAI Golden Jubilee Award for Excellence in Plant Nutrition in 2020, and the Prof. Manjeet S. Chinnan Distinguished Professor Chair Award in 2022 from Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, Punjab, India. Rajbir Garg is affiliated with the Department of Agronomy, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel University of Agriculture and Technology, Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, India. He earned his B.Sc. (Hons) Agriculture in 1989 and M.Sc. in Agronomy in 1991 from CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar, Haryana, India, and completed his Ph.D. in Agronomy from Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, India, in 1991. He began his career as Extension Agronomist in Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK), Haryana, India, in 1994. His research focuses on resource conservation technologies, crop diversification, weed management, paddy straw management, direct seeded rice, and water-saving technologies in rice-wheat cropping systems. R. K. Sohane serves as Director of Extension Education at Bihar Agricultural University, Sabour, Bihar, India. He holds a Master's and Doctoral degree in Animal Nutrition from G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, Uttarakhand, India. He has held administrative roles including Acting Vice Chancellor, Registrar, Director of Student Welfare, Nodal Officer for ICAR and RKVY, and Director of CAFT at Bihar Agricultural University, Sabour, Bihar, India. He has organized national and international conferences, ICAR Summer Schools, and CAFT programs, and conducted 93 training programs benefiting over 8900 participants. He has represented India at workshops in Washington, D.C., USA, and at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), Philippines. His documentary "Umeed: A Hope" won Second Place at the 5th National Film Festival for Rural Development (2021) at NIRD, Hyderabad, India. J. P. Singh is affiliated with the Department of Soil and Water Engineering, College of Agricultural Engineering, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, Punjab, India. He earned his B.Tech. in Agricultural Engineering from Allahabad Agricultural Institute, Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India, and M.Tech. and Ph.D. in Soil and Water Engineering from Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, Punjab, India. He received the Jawahar Lal Nehru Award for best Ph.D. thesis from the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), New Delhi, India, Commendation Medal from the Indian Society of Agricultural Engineers (ISAE), India, Young Scientist Award, Kunwar Saxena Bahadur Award, Fellowship Award, Agricultural Engineering Division Medal, and Senior Research Fellowship from the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), New Delhi, India. He has guided 3 Ph.D. students and 14 M.Tech. students and published about 75 research papers. He is handling a FIST, DST funded project of Rs. 1.52 Crore for the Establishment of a State of Art Geospatial Lab. O. P. Gupta serves as Head of the Department of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology at Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, Punjab, India. He served as founder Deputy Director (IT) and helped establish the School of Information Technology at Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, Punjab, India. He received the PAU Meritorious Teacher Award (2009–10) for contributions to integrating information technologies in agricultural education and research. He has been instrumental in developing PAU's Information Superhighway in the University Data Centre. He is a member of the International Association of Engineers, Singapore, and the Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA), USA. Arun Kumar serves at the Livestock Research Station, Beechwal, Rajasthan University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (RAJUVAS), Bikaner, Rajasthan, India. He earned his B.Sc. in Agriculture from Rajasthan College of Agriculture, Maharana Pratap University of Agriculture and Technology (MPUAT), Udaipur, Rajasthan, India, M.Sc. in Agronomy from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel University of Agriculture and Technology, Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, India, and Ph.D. in Agronomy from Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, Punjab, India, in 2022. He received the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) Senior Research Fellowship (SRF), India, Department of Science and Technology (DST) INSPIRE Fellowship, India, and qualified the ICAR National Eligibility Test (NET), India. His research focuses on crop physiology, nutrient management, and weed science. Shivam Gupta is affiliated with the Department of Computer Science and Automation, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, Karnataka, India. He completed his Ph.D. as Prime Minister Research Fellow in Computer Science and Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology, Ropar, Punjab, India. He earned his Bachelor's degree from the Indian Institute of Information Technology, Sonepat, Haryana, India (Mentor Campus: NIT Kurukshetra, Haryana, India). His research interests include fairness in machine learning, recommender systems, federated learning, and game theory. He has published research in journals such as Springer and Taylor & Francis, and in conferences such as AAMAS and ECAI. Vineet Kumar serves at IIMT University, Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, India. He completed his B.Sc. in Agriculture, M.Sc. in Soil Science, and Ph.D. from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel University of Agriculture and Technology, Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, India, between 2005 and 2016. He worked with the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), India, from 2017 to 2021 on climate-resilient sustainable agriculture research. His research focuses on conservation agriculture, nutrient dynamics, residue management, vermicomposting, natural farming, and millet integration. He has published five books and 26 research papers in national and international journals. He serves as RAWE and Internship Coordinator at IIMT University, Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, India.