Digital Technologies in Smart Agriculture
A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Agricultural Science and Technology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 October 2025 | Viewed by 30
Special Issue Editors
Interests: modern agricultural equipment; use of agricultural machinery; digital-smart agriculture; engineering of crop production processes; postharvest technologies and process engineering; sustainable agriculture; biosystems engineering
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: modern agricultural equipment; use of agricultural machinery; postharvest technologies and process engineering; biomass energy; biosystems engineering
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Sustainable agriculture supports the conservation of natural resources, halts biodiversity loss, and reduces greenhouse gas emissions. Sustainable agriculture is a combination of the best conventional technologies and practices, offering precision farming concepts and digital technologies. The aim of digitalization is to optimize and increase the quality of production and reduce human labor, industrial inputs, and environmental pressures. Today, in the era of Agriculture 4.0, the latest digital technology tools are being employed, namely, the Internet of Things (IoT), Big Data analytics, artificial intelligence, machine learning, satellite technologies, cloud computing, etc. New technologies are key to enabling the development of sustainable agriculture. As such, one of the most important technologies is the Internet of Things (IoT). This concept of connecting devices and collecting and processing the Big Data received from them allows for the continuous creation of streams of interconnected data as well as the creation of new information.
Smart agriculture emphasizes information and communication technologies in machines, equipment, and sensors. This not only allows for high-tech farm monitoring and the automation of processes but also provides a possibility for remotely controlling both processes and work. Currently, these solutions are being used, among others, to monitor changes in soil characteristics, climatic factors, and humidity.
Innovative digital technologies, i.e., satellite technologies, cloud computing, or artificial intelligence, are expected to contribute to agricultural development, greater production efficiency, and resource savings, as well as promote food security and reduce climate change. Digitization and the implementation of new technologies seems to be a natural progression for agricultural development. However, the application of new technologies also raises certain concerns and poses new challenges for farmers.
Therefore, this Special Issue will review a wide range of theoretical and experimental research related to agricultural production processes that implement innovative digital technologies, the possibilities of their application, and the assessment of their effectiveness, as well as the anticipated challenges in combining innovative technologies with conventional agricultural activities.
This Special Issue welcomes all types of articles and is intended for a broad and multidisciplinary audience.
Prof. Dr. Jacek Przybył
Dr. Dawid Wojcieszak
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. Applied Sciences 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 2400 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
- sustainable agriculture
- smart agriculture
- data storage and processing
- Internet of Things (IoT)
- big data analytics
- artificial intelligence
- machine learning
- cloud computing
- satellite technologies
- predictive models
- remote control of processes and works
- automation and autonomy
- field management
- reduction in fertilizer and pesticide use
- reduction in energy inputs
- increased crop production
- increase in production efficiency
- reduction in climate change
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
- Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
- Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
- Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
- External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
- e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.