StGAU: Robotic system for determining plant diseases

The main articles are:

• Robots in agriculture (agricultural robots)
• Robots (robotics)
• Service robots

2026: Introducing a prototype robotic system for plant disease detection

Stavropol State Agrarian University January 21, 2026 presented a working prototype of a robotic system for early diagnosis of plant conditions in greenhouses. The development is aimed at solving problems of national importance in the field of technological sovereignty of the agro-industrial complex: increasing the stability of the production of closed ground vegetables, reducing losses from phytopathology, accelerating selection and introducing domestic digital technologies at enterprises.

𝓲

Фото: StGAU

The project is being developed as part of the development program of the World-Class Scientific Center "Agroengineering of the Future" and meets the strategic request of the industry for the transition to data as the basis for production management. The robotic platform moves along a given route between rows in the greenhouse and surveys plants to detect signs of diseases and developmental abnormalities. The obtained images are automatically loaded into a digital platform, where the built-in neural network calculates indicators and generates diagnostic conclusions.

The key technological emphasis of the project is the domestic data and analytics circuit. The neural network is the own development of StGAU, created jointly with JSC Agropromcipra"," which provides the possibility of development algorithms for the Russian varieties and hybrids, as well as adaptation to the real conditions of specific greenhouse farms. This approach allows you to increase the accuracy of diagnostics, accelerate the response to risks and transfer crop monitoring to a regular, reproducible process, reducing dependence on the human factor and the shortage of specialized specialists.

The first industrial tests of the robotic system took place in December 2025 on the basis of one of the enterprises of the APP What Culture"" - Solnechny Dar LLC.

{{quote 'The key goal of the project is to give our agricultural producers a domestic early diagnostic tool that reduces losses and increases crop stability. This is a direct contribution to the technological sovereignty of the agro-industrial complex. The work is carried out in close conjunction with the industry with the direct support of the Ministry of Agriculture of Russia, which guarantees the practical demand for solutions, - commented the rector of StGAU Vladimir Sitnikov. }}

StGAU will continue applied research and pilot production adaptation of the complex together with partners, expanding data sets and improving the neural network model for different scenarios of greenhouse production. The project is considered as a contribution to the formation of national competencies in agricultural robotics and industrial digitalization of the agro-industrial complex, where the final result is the introduction of technology that ensures the predictability of the crop, economic efficiency and sustainable development of the industry.