Newly hired Stockbridge professor Jianyu Li is focused on advancing the sustainable production of fruit and vegetables, by making improvements in the management of nutrients, research into crop quality, and other forms of environmental optimization.
Li’s goal is to bring the discoveries of plant science to bear on agricultural management systems and practices, enhancing both sustainability and yield.
His research program integrates plant nutrition, plant physiology, and controlled environment agriculture (CEA) to develop science-based strategies that improve crop productivity, resource-use efficiency, and product quality for specialty crop growers in Massachusetts and the Northeast.
Li was recently named as one of ten “Youth AgriChampions” by the AGCO Agriculture Foundation, in partnership with the international agricultural development organization Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture (CNFA).
The AgriChampions, selected for their work in digital agriculture, resilient production, and food innovation, each receive mentorship and leadership training alongside seed funding for a specific project.
Li’s project is to develop SmartFarm Scout, a smartphone-based digital tool that will help specialty crop growers to detect early plant stress, and to make more informed management decisions in the face of increasing climate variability.
The new project connects closely with his Stockbridge work around digital agriculture, and sustainable crop production. Testing and development of the app will leverage existing relationships and collaborations with Massachusetts growers, and create hands-on research opportunities for current and future Stockbridge students.
“I plan to involve undergraduate students, and Masters degree students, in image-based phenotyping, data labeling, and prototype testing,” says Li.
At UMass Amherst, all professors are required to conduct and publish research, attend conferences, and remain active at the cutting edge of their specialized field. This produces many opportunities for students to join ongoing research projects, and it creates a system to refresh our classes with hands-on learning opportunities linked to world-class research.
The University of Massachusetts Amherst is #1 in Agricultural Sciences nationwide, and the only U.S. agricultural science university in the global top 10. Stockbridge School of Agriculture students are taught by professors who are world-class researchers.