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Artificial Intelligence Applications in Precision Agriculture

A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Computing and Artificial Intelligence".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 February 2026 | Viewed by 392

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Horticulture, University of Georgia, Tifton, GA 31793, USA
Interests: precision agriculture; remote sensing; UAV imagery; artificial intelligence; robotics

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Guest Editor
Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND 58102, USA
Interests: precision agriculture; unmanned aerial systems; imagery analysis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Precision Agriculture (PA) has been transforming agricultural production by introducing more advanced methods for collecting, analyzing, and interpreting data to better understand field variability. In this context, Artificial Intelligence (AI) plays a pivotal role by enhancing each stage of the process, enabling more accurate, efficient, and representative data collection, analysis, and decision making. Notably, AI facilitates real-time decision making, addressing one of the key challenges in PA. In short, advancements in AI and PA are driving the future of agricultural production, enhancing safety, improving quality, and fostering greater trust among stakeholders across the agricultural value chain. Consequently, this Special Issue aims to highlight recent innovations in AI-driven applications within precision agriculture. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, machine learning, deep learning, natural language processing (NLP), and the integration of the Internet of Things (IoT) with AI systems. We also welcome contributions that explore the integration of cutting-edge technologies such as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), robotics, hand-held sensors, satellite systems, and imaging technologies. 

Dr. Marcelo Barbosa Júnior
Dr. Paulo Flores
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • artificial intelligence
  • automation
  • computer vision
  • decision support systems
  • digital agriculture
  • field management
  • precision agriculture
  • predictive models
  • remote sensing
  • smart farm

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

18 pages, 4559 KB  
Article
Automating Leaf Area Measurement in Citrus: The Development and Validation of a Python-Based Tool
by Emilio Suarez, Manuel Blaser and Mary Sutton
Appl. Sci. 2025, 15(17), 9750; https://doi.org/10.3390/app15179750 - 5 Sep 2025
Abstract
Leaf area is a critical trait in plant physiology and agronomy, yet conventional measurement approaches such as those using ImageJ remain labor-intensive, user-dependent, and difficult to scale for high-throughput phenotyping. To address these limitations, we developed a fully automated, open-source Python tool for [...] Read more.
Leaf area is a critical trait in plant physiology and agronomy, yet conventional measurement approaches such as those using ImageJ remain labor-intensive, user-dependent, and difficult to scale for high-throughput phenotyping. To address these limitations, we developed a fully automated, open-source Python tool for quantifying citrus leaf area from scanned images using multi-mask HSV segmentation, contour-hierarchy filtering, and batch calibration. The tool was validated against ImageJ across 11 citrus cultivars (n = 412 leaves), representing a broad range of leaf sizes and morphologies. Agreement between methods was near perfect, with correlation coefficients exceeding 0.997, mean bias within ±0.14 cm2, and error rates below 2.5%. Bland–Altman analysis confirmed narrow limits of agreement (±0.3 cm2) while scatter plots showed robust performance across both small and large leaves. Importantly, the Python tool successfully handled challenging imaging conditions, including low-contrast leaves and edge-aligned specimens, where ImageJ required manual intervention. Processing efficiency was markedly improved, with the full dataset analyzed in 7 s compared with over 3 h using ImageJ, representing a >1600-fold speed increase. By eliminating manual thresholding and reducing user variability, this tool provides a reliable, efficient, and accessible framework for high-throughput leaf area quantification, advancing reproducibility and scalability in digital phenotyping. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Artificial Intelligence Applications in Precision Agriculture)
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