Problem Statements

6 Themes and 70 Problem Statements for ‘Agri Hackathon 2026’

Theme I: Crop Improvement, Seed technology and Biotechnology

1. Crop diversification in moth bean and rice bean.
2. Crop diversification in safflower and mustard.
3. Crop diversification in Brown top millet, Fonio, Teff, Amaranth and Quinoa.
4. Identifying low GI food crops/varieties.
5. Arresting pre harvest sprouting (PHS) in rice through small molecules.
6. Arresting of pre harvest sprouting (PHS) in groundnut through small molecules.
7. Reducing hard seed coat formation in pulses.
8. Reducing shattering losses in green gram and black gram.
9. Reducing shattering losses in sesame.
10. Novel seed coating for faster germination, vigour, disease resistance and mitigating nutrient deficiency.
11. New plant architecture for yield and mechanization in black gram and green gram.
12. New plant architecture for yield and mechanization in finger millet and kodo millet.
13. Novel carrier molecules for gene-editing system.
14. Novel botanicals/biologicals for grain/seed treatment to control storage pests in warehouse.
15. Designing ‘superbag’ for seed storage/preventive rancidity.

Theme II: Crop and Natural Resource Management

16. Organic approaches for weed management.
17. Improvement of crop recovery after drought/flood.
18. Rapid increase in Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) content.
19. Easy-to-Use soil biological testing kits for rapid soil health assessment.
20. Real-time soil testing kit for quantitative soil health assessment (Electrochemistry/Spectroscopy).
21. Precision biomolecule delivery for crop health management using nanocarriers.
22. Assessing greenhouse gas emissions through remote sensing.
23. Crops/varietal identification using satellite data.
24. Crop health and yield assessment using satellite/drone data.
25. Defoliants for mechanical harvesting.
26. Chemical interventions/treatments to reduce sucrose degradation associated with delayed harvest of sugarcane.
27. Growth-regulators/biostimulants to achieve rapid growth in sugarcane.
28. Soil amendments for reducing Electrical Conductivity (EC).
29. pH stability challenges in liquid biofertilizers.
30. Next-Gen biofertilizer: Microbial consortium for multi-nutrient delivery.
31. Farm scale desalinization of irrigation water.
32. Integrated mobile app linking ‘Tamil Manvalam’ recommending crops suitable for specific soil types for a specific location.

Theme III: Crop Protection

33. Ways to increase pollination/fruit set in vegetable/fruit cultivation (sunflower, mango,gourds).
34. Repellents for mitigating wild boars.
35. Scarer for birds swarming agricultural crops.
36. Developing eco-friendly pheromone lures to manage fruit flies in the horticultural ecosystem.
37. Rapid detection of pesticide residues in fruits, vegetables, and spices.
38. Early diagnosis of coconut root wilt.
39. Novel molecules for yellow mosaic disease (YMD) in black gram.
40. Novel approaches for effective control of sugarcane Pokkah boeng disease.
41. Innovative and holistic approaches for pest/disease forecast of major crops.
42. Reduction of aflatoxin levels in groundnut.

Theme IV: Agricultural Engineering

43. Farm level, low cost, solar-powered low temperature storage systems for short term as fruits, vegetables and flowers, Improvisation of existing IARI storage models.
44. Cost effective pulp/juice extractor for tomato and water melon at farm level.
45. Combine harvester for pulses.
46. Groundnut digger cum stripper.
47. Small scale sugarcane harvester.
48. Sensors for food spoilage/storage pests.
49. Food formulations to address health issues.
50. Value addition in fruits and vegetables.
51. Innovative technologies for reducing post-harvest losses.
52. Bio-colorants from fruits and vegetables for food industry.
53. Low-cost waste/polluted water treatment for agriculture (EcoClean Irrigation).
54. Newer methods and technologies in micro irrigation systems (Next-Gen Micro Irrigation Systems).
55. Solar powered low temperature storage systems for short-term preservation of perishable produces (Green refrigerator).
56. Artificial intelligence driven approaches for weed control.
57. Innovative grain moisture/ chalkiness assessing digital device affordable to farmers.

Theme V: Horticulture

58. Extending shelf life of flowers and fruits.
59. Low-cost structures for protected cultivation.
60. Off season production in jasmine, tomato and moringa.
61. Universal nutrient solution for vegetable cultivation.
62. Low-cost biodegradable inputs for kitchen garden.
63. Efficient and timely processing of coir-pith for use in kitchen garden.
64. Affordable canopy management in high density planting (HDP).
65. Innovative plant propagation techniques such as precision grafting.
66. Identifying new flower or fruit crops enabling diversity and meeting export market.

Theme VI: Agricultural Marketing

67. Innovative tools to address market glut in tomato, onion, etc..
68. Price forecasting information system for agricultural crops.
69. Innovative Supply Chain Models for Vegetables and Fruits.
70. Traceability Tools for Niche Products.