Biology and Life Sciences Forum, Volume 54, Issue 1

The adoption of Internet of Things (IoT) technologies has significantly enhanced precision farming by enabling continuous environmental monitoring and data-driven agricultural management. However, the increasing reliance on distributed sensor network...

Interest in the cultivation of rockrose (Cistus ladanifer L.) is focused not only on its commercial products but also on its role in maintaining ecosystems. Very few pests and diseases are known to affect it. However, in cultivated plots in mainland...

Policy instability and regulatory barriers remain key obstacles to the long-term viability of agriphotovoltaics (APV) deployment. The Penthéréaz case in Switzerland provides empirical evidence of how cooperative governance and collectiv...

To comply with new pastoral regulations in Benin, herders are increasingly adopting sedentary cattle systems, which may pose environmental risks if poorly managed. This study assessed greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from three sedentary cattle farm ty...

Nutrients recovered from municipal and dairy wastewaters in a bioelectrochemical system constructed with terracotta and biochar were used in different soil amendments. These amendments included addition of terracotta (TS), biochar (BS), terracotta an...

Ultramafic soils, particularly those affected by mining, often contain toxic nickel (Ni) levels that hinder plant growth and ecosystem recovery. This study assessed engineered biochar–nanocomposite amendments to improve vetiver (Chrysopogon ziz...

Rapid urbanization and population growth demand sustainable food systems. This study investigated hydroponic vertical farming with LED lighting for Chinese kale (Brassica oleracea var. alboglabra), comparing white LEDs (WL), 20% red + 80% blue (20% R...

As the global population grows rapidly, effective wastewater management and resource recovery is increasingly critical. Conventional wastewater treatment is energy-intensive, and it increases reliance on fossil fuel supplies. Microbial Electrochemica...

Demand for rapid and cost-effective soil analysis has increased the use of spectroscopy, particularly in the visible–near-infrared (Vis–NIR) and mid-infrared (MIR) regions. Using 8304 soil samples from the United States Department of Agri...

This study investigates the occurrence and electrochemical removal of four commonly used pesticides—lufenuron, ethoprophos, dichlobenil, and picloram—from groundwater in a semi-arid agricultural basin in Southeastern Türkiye. Groundw...

The aim is to develop a simple and efficient AI audio-based approach to recognize chickens’ key behaviors, such as eating, greeting, foraging, hunting, and tidbitting, to improve poultry farming. First, the proposed study performs cepstral and...

Sugarcane productivity in the Philippines is threatened by ringspot disease caused by Epicoccum sorghinum. This study evaluated the antagonistic potential of sugarcane endophytic bacteria against E. sorghinum using Dual Culture (DCA) and Volatile Com...

In this study, we design a deep learning-based intelligent recognition method capable of accurately distinguishing abnormal chicken vocalizations among complex sound signals. Our proposed framework is based on the wavelet scattering transform (WST) a...

Climate change poses an increasing challenge to tropical agriculture, particularly for heat-sensitive crops such as local varieties of beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.). This study evaluated the effects of induced passive heat on the root architecture an...

Inga edulis Mart. (Fabaceae) is a multipurpose fruit tree widely cultivated in Ecuador. We explored how contrasting cultivation systems are associated with variation in fruit traits and genetic diversity by comparing agroforestry plantations and trad...

This collection presents the accepted abstracts for the 3rd International Online Conference on Agriculture (IOCAG2025), organized by the MDPI journal Agriculture, and held online from 22 to 24 October 2025. The event highlighted integrative solutions...

Agriculture in semi-arid regions faces increasing challenges from temperature extremes and moisture stress, necessitating climate-smart and resource-efficient production systems. This study examined maize–mushroom intercropping as a climate-sma...

Google Earth Engine (GEE) has revolutionised remote sensing. The GEE cloud platform lets users quickly analyse large satellite imagery datasets with custom programmes, enhancing global-scale analysis. Crop condition monitoring using GEE would greatly...

Barley is a marginalized crop subjected to several types of abiotic stress but need to intensify for future climate smart crop. This study investigated the drought resistance of barley landraces focusing on agro-morphological and physiological traits...

Soil micronutrient assessment is crucial for ensuring sustainable crop production and environmental quality, particularly in intensively cultivated regions. This study aimed to evaluate and map the spatial distribution of Diethylenetriamine Pentaacet...

Precise prediction of wheat yield plays a crucial role in food security and resource management in Pakistan. The current research suggests an artificial intelligence-driven framework based on 23 years of agro-meteorological and yield data that predic...

Eldana saccharina Walker is a major sugarcane pest in South Africa, primarily controlled with chemical insecticides, though resistance threatens their effectiveness. Laboratory bioassays at the South African Sugarcane Research Institute evaluated the...

The contemporary agricultural market is profoundly volatile, where agricultural prices are based on a complex supply chain, climatic irregularity or unscheduled market demand. Prices of crops need to be predicted in a reliable and timely manner for f...

Smallholder farmers’ yields fluctuate yearly due to the variability of climate, resources, and diseases. The study aimed to assess genotypes-by-environment interactions under different management practices using additive main effects and multip...

This study evaluates the influence of four unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) spray nozzle geometries—flat-fan, hollow-cone, air-induction, and ultra-fine electrostatic—on water and pesticide use, canopy coverage, and greenhouse gas emissions...

Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)-based spraying is transforming precision agriculture by enabling targeted, uniform agrochemical application. This study evaluates four nozzle types across three flight heights for rice crop canopy, analyzing spray metric...

Soil salinity is an essential constraint on sustainable crop production, particularly in arid and semi-arid regions, due to its effects on soil fertility. This study presents a data-driven approach for mapping soil salinity by integrating field-based...

A study was conducted on the fruit storage (0, 2, 4, and 6 days) of bitter gourd (half-ripe stage) under ambient conditions (temperature: 28 ± 2 °C and relative humidity: 65 ± 5%). It was conducted to evaluate the impact of fruit st...

Certain essential oils (EOs) from aromatic plants have shown potent antifungal effects. In this work, an in vitro study was conducted to examine the antifungal effect of EOs obtained from Greek flora aromatic plants that belong to the Lamiaceae famil...