Artificial intelligence is guiding plant breeding — and helping to speed up the development of crops that scientists hope can better cope with devastating drought and heat.

Why it matters: Droughts in China, Europe, East Africa and North America are damaging crops and contributing to food insecurity and hunger crises around the world.

What's happening: Machine learning algorithms and other AI tools have been used by some companies for about a decade, but they're becoming more widely available to breeders.

There are some tradeoffs, though, between how much water a plant uses and how much grain, corn or other product a plant can yield — and debate about how far breeders can go with both.

Details: In a recent study, Messina and his colleagues assessed how hybrids of drought-tolerant maize bred with the help of AI grew under different water conditions.

But, but, but... A study published earlier this year found gains in corn yields were largely due to climate and improved soil and crop management, not plant genetics.

Potatoes are another staple around the world — and the plants are highly sensitive to heat.

The big picture: Genetics are just one factor in a crop's yield and resilience.

Messina says his goal is to integrate information about a plant's genetics, a field's environment and a crop's management.