Our Work

Research at the Lab.

Exploring the intersection of digital technology and agricultural science to develop innovative solutions for sustainable crop production.

01 — Focus

Research Areas.

01

Crop Physiology

How environmental factors and agronomic practices shape plant biology. Field trials translate those interactions into concrete farming recommendations.

Current Initiatives

  • Sulfur deficiency across the US Midwest & South
  • Nitrogen Nutrition Index (NNI) in corn
  • Corn-to-soybean yield ratio dynamics
02

Digital Agriculture

Crop modeling and advanced algorithms turning satellite, weather, and soil data into predictive models and decision-support tools.

Current Initiatives

  • Indiana Nitrogen Initiative (INNI)
  • AI-driven seed recommendation tool
  • Indiana envirotyping & regional clustering
03

Computer Vision

Image recognition and processing to monitor crop health, detect disease, and automate phenotypic data collection in the field.

Current Initiatives

  • High-throughput phenotyping for wheat, corn & sorghum
  • Smartphone imagery for in-field measurements
  • Improving remote sensing yield estimates
04

Exploratory Research

Emerging initiatives at the intersection of policy, technology adoption, and the broader research landscape in agriculture.

Current Initiatives

  • 4R nitrogen sustainability programs
  • Agricultural publication & patent analysis
  • Precision ag adoption survey

02 — Selected Works

All Publications.

01

Leveraging Large Language Models for Automated Scalable Development of Open Scientific Databases

Nikita Gautam, Doina Caragea, Ignacio Ciampitti, Federico Gomez

2027 · 10.1007/978-3-032-29003-8_2

02

Assessing robustness and transferability of image‐based semantic segmentation models for major field crops

Gustavo N. Santiago, Pedro Cisdeli, German Mandrini, Mitchell Tuinstra, Ignacio A. Ciampitti

The Plant Phenome Journal

2026 · 10.1002/ppj2.70087

03

Spatial assessment of field-scale water use efficiency of an AI-radar guided irrigation system using UAV-derived and OpenET evapotranspiration

Udit Debangshi, Prasad Deshpande, P.V. Vara Prasad, Vaishali Sharda, Susan Metzger, Ignacio A. Ciampitti, Gaurav Jha

Smart Agricultural Technology

2026 · 10.1016/j.atech.2026.102255

04

Maize-based intercropping systems in Africa increase yields: A meta-analysis

Claire Bott, Ana Carcedo, P.V. Vara Prasad, Ignacio A. Ciampitti

European Journal of Agronomy

2026 · 10.1016/j.eja.2026.128143

05

Assessing inequality in corn plant spacing and yield using Lorenz curves and the Gini coefficient

Bhaskar Aryal, Ajay Sharda, Andres Patrignani, Trevor Hefley, Ignacio Ciampitti

Precision Agriculture

2026 · 10.1007/s11119-026-10320-1

06

Environmental and societal costs of maize production decrease by addressing the uncertainty in nitrogen rate recommendations

Francisco Palmero, Eric A. Davidson, Kaiyu Guan, Alison J. Eagle, Hannah E. Birgé, P. V. Vara Prasad, Trevor J. Hefley, Jeffrey R. Schussler, Ignacio A. Ciampitti

Nature Communications

2026 · 10.1038/s41467-026-68988-y

07

Integrating legumes to enhance cereal production: The relative inputs of fertiliser nitrogen and legume biological nitrogen fixation in major wheat and maize producing countries

Mark B. Peoples, Xiaoxi Li, John A. Kirkegaard, Roger D. Armstrong, Ignacio A. Ciampitti, Angelinus C. Franke, Ken E. Giller, James R. Hunt, Marie-Hélène Jeuffroy, Jagdish K. Ladha, Gilles Lemaire, Long Li, Francisco Palmero, Moritz Reckling, Fernando Salvagiotti, Tesfaye S. Sida, Antony D. Swan, Siyu Zhang, David F. Herridge

Plant and Soil

2026 · 10.1007/s11104-025-08245-1

08

A novel framework for evaluating farmer resilience: Methodological advances and theoretical foundations

Moller, K., Nejadhashemi, A.P., Tirgari, M., Junior, N.V., Carcedo, A.J.P., Ciampitti, I., Prasad, P.V.V., Diallo, A.

Agricultural Systems

2026 · 10.1016/j.agsy.2025.104554

09

Assessing in-season N response and recovery of maize from mild N stress

Bosche, L., Gomez, F., Maddonni, G., Hefley, T., Prasad, P.V.V., Van De Woestyne, B., Ciampitti, I.

European Journal of Agronomy

2026 · 10.1016/j.eja.2025.127876

10

Beyond NUE: A focus on true nitrogen gains in cereals

Fernandez, J.A., Ciampitti, I.A.

European Journal of Agronomy

2026 · 10.1016/j.eja.2025.127896

Showing 110 of 50 publications

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03 — Get in Touch

Research Collaboration.

Interested in collaborating on research projects or learning more about our work? We welcome partnerships with academic institutions, industry, and government agencies.