Implementations are disclosed for selectively operating edge-based sensors and/or computational resources under circumstances dictated by observation of targeted plant trait(s) to generate targeted agricultural inferences. In various implementations, triage data may be acquired at a first level of detail from a sensor of an edge computing node carried through an agricultural field. The triage data may be locally processed at the edge using machine learning model(s) to detect targeted plant trait(s) exhibited by plant(s) in the field. Based on the detected plant trait(s), a region of interest (ROI) may be established in the field. Targeted inference data may be acquired at a second, greater level of detail from the sensor while the sensor is carried through the ROI. The targeted inference data may be locally processed at the edge using one or more of the machine learning models to make a targeted inference about plants within the ROI.