Advances in Field Spectroscopy in Agriculture

Dear Colleagues,

Currently, agriculture requires crops to be analyzed and monitored in the field rather than in the laboratory. Field spectroscopy is one of the most suitable technologies for assessing plants and soils using a non-destructive approach. It can be defined as the measurement of the spectral properties over a continuous region of the electromagnetic spectrum. This may include visible light and near-infrared sensors, which measure the region from 400 to 1000 nanometers (nm), short-wave infrared sensors, which cover the region from 1000 to 2500 nm, full-range (400–2500 nm) sensors, or other more novel spectral sensors that focus specifically on the ultraviolet, chlorophyll fluorescence, or long-wave infrared spectral regions.

Field spectroscopy is safe, rapid, cost-effective, easy-to-use, and sensitive, and allows us to monitor changes in the characteristics of crops throughout the growth season until harvest. It has also proven to be useful to other agronomic applications of interest, including soil surface monitoring and assessment, fruit yield and quality parameter assessment, and other more specific and value-added agricultural assessments.

This Special Issue aims to present a collection of original research articles and reviews related to recent advances in field spectroscopy in agriculture. Potential topics include, but are not limited to:

• assessment of crop quality and yield;
• classification of crops and soils;
• early detection of crop diseases;
• physical and chemical characteristics of crops and soils;
• water monitoring in crops and soils;
• estimation of plant photosynthesis and respiration parameters using empirical models;
• testing and development of advanced radiative transfer models;
• fruit yield and quality assessments; and
• fruit ripeness and marketability assessments.

Prof. Dr. José Ramón Rodríguez-Pérez
Prof. Dr. Shawn C. Kefauver
Guest Editors

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