**AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** ACCURATE INVENTORY MANAGEMENT AND QUALITY ASSESSMENT ARE CRITICAL TASKS FOR MONITORING SALES, YIELD, SPACE REQUIREMENTS, PRODUCTION TIMING, AND QUALITY IMPROVEMENTS OF ORNAMENTAL NURSERIES. THE CURRENT STANDARD FOR INVENTORIES AND QUALITY ASSESSMENTS IS COUNTING THOUSANDS OF PLANTS MANUALLY. THE PROCESS IS INEFFICIENT, TIME-CONSUMING, LABOR-INTENSIVE, LIKELY INACCURATE, AND EXPENSIVE. SINCE THE U.S. FARM LABOR POOL IS CONSISTENTLY DECREASING AND IS EXPECTED TO SHRINK LONG-TERM, AN AUTOMATED INVENTORY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM IS NEEDED TO MEET THE NATIONAL AND GLOBAL GOALS FOR SUSTAINABLE PRACTICES. THE MAIN OBJECTIVE OF THIS PROJECT IS TO DEVELOP AND TEST A SMART GROUND-BASED VISION SYSTEM FOR AUTOMATED INVENTORY MANAGEMENT AND QUALITY EVALUATION (E.G., CANOPY ARCHITECTURE, COLOR, UNIFORMITY, AND HOMOGENEITY) OF ORNAMENTAL NURSERY CROPS. ACTIVELY ILLUMINATED MULTISPECTRAL IMAGING WITH OCCLUSION-AWARE DEEP CONVOLUTIONAL NEURAL NETWORKS WILL BE USED FOR PLANT SEGMENTATION AND QUALITY ASSESSMENTS. THE SYSTEM PERFORMANCE WILL BE EVALUATED INCOMMERCIAL NURSERIES AT DIFFERENT GROWTH STAGES AND LEVELS OF CANOPY OCCLUSION. THE SECONDARY OBJECTIVE IS TO USE IMAGE-BASED QUALITY PARAMETERS TO RE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION TO NURSERY MANAGERS ABOUT THE SPATIAL AND TEMPORAL DISTRIBUTIONS OF PLANT HEALTH ACROSS DIFFERENT NURSERY BEDS, SEASONS, AND YEARS. STAKEHOLDERS CAN USE THIS KNOWLEDGE TO FINE-TUNE THE MANAGEMENT PRACTICES AND MITIGATE UNFORESEEN PRODUCTION RISKS.THE PROPOSED AUTOMATED INVENTORY MANAGEMENT AND QUALITY ASSESSMENT SYSTEM WILL PROVIDE NEAR-TERM AND LONG-TERM SOLUTIONS FOR NURSERY MANAGERS TO IMPROVE ORNAMENTAL NURSERY PRODUCTION EFFICIENCY, PROFITABILITY, AND SUSTAINABILITY.