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Agriculture
Special Issues
Design and Development of Smart Crop Protection Equipment
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Design and Development of Smart Crop Protection Equipment

A special issue of Agriculture (ISSN 2077-0472). This special issue belongs to the section "Agricultural Technology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 25 August 2025 | Viewed by 4114

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Weidong Jia

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Agricultural Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China
Interests: two-phase flow theory and application; precision crop protection spraying technology; intelligent crop protection equipment
Prof. Dr. Qizhi Yang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Agricultural Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China
Interests: agricultural robot; parallel mechanism and its application in agricultural engineering; cash crop field management machinery; transplanting theory of plug seedlings and its automation equipment
Dr. Xiaowen Wang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Agricultural Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China
Interests: efficient utilization of agricultural water and soil resources; intelligent water and fertilizer integration equipment; agricultural remote sensing; agricultural numerical model

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The application of crop protection equipment to spray chemical pesticides can significantly improve agricultural production efficiency, reduce manual labor intensity, and minimize the harm of pesticides to people. This has become the most important method for crop pest and disease prevention and control at present. However, traditional crop protection equipment still faces problems such as low effective utilization of pesticides and severe pesticide droplet drift pollution. Based on the rapid development of information technology, plant phenotype, and advanced manufacturing, smart crop protection equipment is formed by deeply integrating emerging technologies such as big data, remote sensing, and artificial intelligence with the development of agricultural equipment. This equipment can realize independent accurate and variable spray operation, innovate the prevention and management of crop diseases and pests, and become a major support to promote the transformation and upgrading of modern agriculture.

This Special Issue aims to introduce innovative theories, methods and applications of smart crop protection technology and equipment. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following: efficient and precise pesticide spraying technology and equipment; droplet deposition and drift control; construction and simulation of spray numerical model; remote sensing detection of crops, pests, diseases, and weeds; pesticide spraying decision; key components for precise spraying; crop protection robot; crop protection UAV and low-altitude and low-volume aerial pesticide application; low carbon drive and multi-machine collaboration for crop protection equipment; process monitoring and effect evaluation of crop protection equipment; intelligent mechanical weeding equipment. Various types of articles are welcome for submission, including original research, reviews, communications, etc.

Prof. Dr. Weidong Jia
Prof. Dr. Qizhi Yang
Dr. Xiaowen Wang
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Agriculture is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • smart crop protection equipment
  • pesticide droplet drift
  • crop protection robot
  • aviation crop protection
  • remote sensing
  • agricultural sensor

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

21 pages, 10154 KiB  
Article
Development of EV Crawler-Type Weeding Robot for Organic Onion
by Liangliang Yang, Sota Kamata, Yohei Hoshino, Yufei Liu and Chiaki Tomioka
Agriculture 2025, 15(1), 2; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture15010002 - 24 Dec 2024
Viewed by 870
Abstract
The decline in the number of essential farmers has become a significant issue in Japanese agriculture. In response, there is increasing interest in the electrification and automation of agricultural machinery, particularly in relation to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This study [...] Read more.
The decline in the number of essential farmers has become a significant issue in Japanese agriculture. In response, there is increasing interest in the electrification and automation of agricultural machinery, particularly in relation to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This study focuses on the development of an electric vehicle (EV) crawler-type robot designed for weed cultivation operations, with the aim of reducing herbicide use in organic onion farming. Weed cultivation requires precise, delicate operations over extended periods, making it a physically and mentally demanding task. To alleviate the labor burden associated with weeding, we employed a color camera to capture crop images and used artificial intelligence (AI) to identify crop rows. An automated system was developed in which the EV crawler followed the identified crop rows. The recognition data were transmitted to a control PC, which directed the crawler’s movements via motor drivers equipped with Controller Area Network (CAN) communication. Based on the crop row recognition results, the system adjusted motor speed differentials, enabling the EV crawler to follow the crop rows with a high precision. Field experiments demonstrated the effectiveness of the system, with automated operations maintaining a lateral deviation of ±2.3 cm, compared to a maximum error of ±10 cm in manual operation. These results indicate that the automation system provides a greater accuracy and is suitable for weed cultivation tasks in organic farming. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Design and Development of Smart Crop Protection Equipment)
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21 pages, 3485 KiB  
Article
Development and Experiment of an Air-Assisted Sprayer for Vineyard Pesticide Application
by Mingxiong Ou, Yong Zhang, Minmin Wu, Chenyang Wang, Shiqun Dai, Ming Wang, Xiang Dong and Li Jiang
Agriculture 2024, 14(12), 2279; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture14122279 - 12 Dec 2024
Viewed by 727
Abstract
This paper presents an air-assisted sprayer for vineyard pesticide application. The spraying unit was designed with two symmetrically arranged ports. The airflow velocity distribution of the sprayer was investigated using a combination of experimental validation and a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model. The [...] Read more.
This paper presents an air-assisted sprayer for vineyard pesticide application. The spraying unit was designed with two symmetrically arranged ports. The airflow velocity distribution of the sprayer was investigated using a combination of experimental validation and a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model. The results of both the simulation and the experiment showed good agreement in airflow velocity, and the distribution was uniform. Both unilateral and bilateral spraying field experiments were conducted in this study. The unilateral spraying experiment showed that higher spray pressure and lower sprayer speed increased both total deposition coverage and spray penetration (SP), while shorter spray distances improved SP but decreased total deposition coverage. The optimal operational conditions for the sprayer were determined as follows: spray pressure of 0.40 MPa, sprayer speed of 0.83 m/s, and spray distance of 1.00 m. The results of the bilateral spraying field experiment indicated that the coefficient of variation (CV) for deposition coverage in Columns A, B, and C were 16.20%, 8.10%, and 15.47%, respectively. The CVs in Layers a, b, and c were 6.14%, 12.62%, and 6.74%, respectively. This result demonstrated that the deposition coverage distribution in the canopy was relatively uniform, and the air-assisted sprayer exhibited good spray penetration performance. This study demonstrates the effectiveness and potential of the air-assisted sprayer for vineyard pesticide application. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Design and Development of Smart Crop Protection Equipment)
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16 pages, 3559 KiB  
Article
Development and Evaluation of a Monodisperse Droplet-Generation System for Precision Herbicide Application
by Minmin Wu, Mingxiong Ou, Yong Zhang, Weidong Jia, Shiqun Dai, Ming Wang, Xiang Dong, Xiaowen Wang and Li Jiang
Agriculture 2024, 14(11), 1885; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture14111885 - 24 Oct 2024
Viewed by 828
Abstract
Traditional methods of weed control during field management often result in herbicide waste. Precision herbicide application is crucial in agricultural production. This study presents a monodisperse droplet-generation system designed for precision herbicide application, capable of generating monodisperse droplets induced by an electric field. [...] Read more.
Traditional methods of weed control during field management often result in herbicide waste. Precision herbicide application is crucial in agricultural production. This study presents a monodisperse droplet-generation system designed for precision herbicide application, capable of generating monodisperse droplets induced by an electric field. Droplet-generation experiments were conducted to investigate the effects of capillary tube outlet shape, liquid flow rate, and capillary tube size on the generation of charged droplets. A droplet diameter prediction model was established based on the system parameters. Experimental results indicated that as the applied voltage increased, the droplet diameter decreased, and the droplet-generation patterns transitioned sequentially from dripping, micro-dripping, to unstable dripping modes. In a weak electric field, capillaries with beveled outlets produced smaller droplets with more stable diameter distributions compared to those with blunt outlets. In a strong electric field, the smallest droplet diameter from blunt capillaries was 138.2 μm, whereas from beveled capillaries it was 198.7 μm. Within the design parameter range, droplet diameter was basically positively correlated with liquid flow rate and capillary tube size. By controlling the applied voltage, liquid flow rate, and capillary tube size, stable droplet generation could be achieved within a diameter range of 198.7–2520.8 μm, and the coefficient of variation of droplet diameter under the same working conditions was generally less than 6%. The monodisperse droplet-generation system developed in this study can effectively reduce herbicide usage and improve application efficiency. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Design and Development of Smart Crop Protection Equipment)
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26 pages, 7260 KiB  
Article
Optimization of a Boom Height Ultrasonic Detecting Model for the Whole Growth Cycle of Wheat: Affected by the Oscillation of the Three-Section Boom of the Sprayer
by Jianguo Wu, Shuo Yang, Yuanyuan Gao, Xiaoyong Pan, Wei Zou, Yibo Wei, Changyuan Zhai and Liping Chen
Agriculture 2024, 14(10), 1733; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture14101733 - 1 Oct 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 841
Abstract
In the dynamic operation of a boom sprayer, the boom oscillation will cause the detection value of the boom height to fluctuate greatly, resulting in failures of the control system. Based on the previously developed static boom height detection model for the entire [...] Read more.
In the dynamic operation of a boom sprayer, the boom oscillation will cause the detection value of the boom height to fluctuate greatly, resulting in failures of the control system. Based on the previously developed static boom height detection model for the entire wheat growth cycle, this study aimed to optimize the model to reduce the impact of boom oscillation on the accuracy of boom height detection. Three ultrasonic sensors were installed on each section boom of a three-section boom sprayer, and dynamic boom height detection tests were conducted at vehicle speeds of 4 to 8 km/h across six growth stages of winter wheat in Beijing, a total detection area within a single fixed operational row of approximately 14 ha. The test results showed that as vehicle speed increased, boom oscillations intensified across all sections. By setting the boom oscillation correction parameters, the detecting value of each section of boom height is corrected. The results show that the fluctuation and deviation degree of the boom height-detecting value are obviously reduced, and the correction effect is obvious. Further analysis of the detecting value of the boom height after the correction shows that the previously established detection model still maintains high detection accuracy under dynamic conditions; that is, the detection position of the ultrasonic sensor does not downward shift. This paper provides a low-cost technical method that can be directly applied to the dynamic detection of boom height. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Design and Development of Smart Crop Protection Equipment)
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