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ITC’s AI Crop Doctor helps farmers improve plant health
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Friday, 15 May, 2026, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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Our Bureau, New Delhi
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As the world observes the International Day of Plant Health, ITC’s unique ITCMAARS phygital ecosystem, with its integrated, hyperlocal and customised solutions such as the Crop Doctor, powered by AI and ML-based capabilities, is enabling real-time detection of plant diseases, delivering tailored remedial guidance to Indian farmers.
Championed by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations and the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC), this year’s International Day of Plant Health Day theme, ‘Plant Biosecurity for Food Security’, underscores the need to strengthen protection against pests and diseases to ensure global food supplies, protect livelihoods, and maintain environmental health.
It enables farmers to diagnose crop diseases and pest infestations instantly using AI-based image analytics. This feature provided in the ITCMAARS super-app covers 70 different crops and has been used 3 lakh times in a short span, helping farmers take corrective measures and prevent crop loss. By ensuring early detection, the tool strengthens biosecurity at the farm level, minimising the spread of diseases. Crop Doctor also recommends customised remedial actions covering chemical, biological and mechanical crop management practices, reducing the time gap between pest detection and mitigation. The recommendations are available both in vernacular text and audio, for convenience of farmers. Farmers can also seek personalised guidance from ITC’s Agri Experts with the help of the platform’s direct engagement service, which provides support through toll free lines in regional languages.
S Ganesh Kumar, chief executive, Agri Business Division, ITC Ltd., said, “Plant health and food security are deeply interconnected, especially in the context of climate change and pest risks. Comprehensive interventions for soil health, agri inputs and weather alerts across sowing to harvesting are critical in ensuring good plant health. Through our integrated ITCMAARS phygital ecosystem and powered by its unique tech-enabled solutions including the Crop Doctor and expert on-ground customised advisories, we are committed to helping farmers with accessible, science-led solutions that support early detection, preventive action and sustainable crop management. Our endeavour is to strengthen farm resilience while improving productivity and farmer livelihoods.”
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