Israeli Startup Putting the Squeeze on Citrus Disease with AI

The multibillion-dollar citrus industry is getting squeezed. The disease known as “citrus greening” is causing sour fruit around the world. Damage to Florida’s citrus crops has cost billions of dollars and thousands of jobs, according to the University of Florida. In the past few years, the disease has moved into California. SeeTree, an AI startup based in Tel Aviv, is helping farmers step up crop defenses. The startup’s GPU-driven tree analytics platform relies on image recognition algorithms, sensors, drones and an app for collecting data on the ground. Its platform helps farmers pinpoint affected trees for removal to slow the spread of the orchard disease.