Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
5.1
3.0
Journals
Horticulturae
Special Issues
New Technologies Applied in Horticultural Crop Protection
share announcement

New Technologies Applied in Horticultural Crop Protection

A special issue of Horticulturae (ISSN 2311-7524). This special issue belongs to the section "Protected Culture".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2025 | Viewed by 1633

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Zhichong Wang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Science, China Agriculture University, Beijing, China
Interests: plant protection; precision agriculture; sensor
Dr. Peng Qi

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Shandong Academy of Agricultural Machinery Sciences (SAAMS), Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Jinan 250100, China
Interests: intelligent crop protection machinery; pesticide application technology; plant protection drone downwash airflow; CFD
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Xianping Guan

E-Mail
Guest Editor
Key Laboratory of Modern Agricultural Equipment and Technology, Ministry of Education, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, China
Interests: R&D of orchard moving robots; R&D of orchard intelligent spray machinery; research on intelligent perception and obstacle avoidance technology of agricultural machinery; research on intelligent control technology of agricultural machinery
Dr. Zhan Huang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Plant Protection, Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, Beijing, China
Interests: plant protection; agriculture aerial applications; atomization

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Crop protection is a critical aspect of horticultural crop production and thus new technologies, equipment and methods, including drones, robots and other precision applications, are being developed. These provide various means of applying pesticides and other chemicals, potentially enhancing the efficiency and reducing the dosage of chemicals. The aim of this Special Issue, entitled "New Technologies Applied in Horticultural Crop Protection", is to present an overview of the new technologies recently developed by researchers in crop protection practice. We welcome the submission of innovative articles that address crop protection in any fruit and vegetable, as well as those that present reliable experiments. This is not limited to the application of pesticides, herbicides and fungicides, but includes all types of plant protection products (PPPs). In addition, the scope of this Special Issue is not limited to unmanned aerial spraying systems (UASSs) and the use of remote sensing and computer vision (CV) in crop protection. However, the development of new machines and pure mathematical methods are beyond the scope of this Special Issue.

Dr. Zhichong Wang
Dr. Peng Qi
Dr. Xianping Guan
Dr. Zhan Huang
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. Horticulturae is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly 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 2200 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

  • plant protection
  • applied agriculutre
  • precision agriculture
  • UASS

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.
  • Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (2 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

17 pages, 2381 KiB  
Article
Wettability of the Plant Growth Regulator 28-HB on Pepper Leaves at Different Developmental Stages
by Xiaoya Dong, Kaiyuan Wang, Zhouming Gao, Cuicui Zhu, Xianping Guan and Baijing Qiu
Horticulturae 2025, 11(6), 661; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae11060661 - 10 Jun 2025
Viewed by 309
Abstract
Studying the wettability of plant growth regulators on crop leaf surfaces is essential for enhancing crop yield. In this study, the wetting behavior of the plant growth regulator 28-homo-brassinolide (28-HB), supplemented with different surfactants, was investigated on the adaxial and abaxial surfaces of [...] Read more.
Studying the wettability of plant growth regulators on crop leaf surfaces is essential for enhancing crop yield. In this study, the wetting behavior of the plant growth regulator 28-homo-brassinolide (28-HB), supplemented with different surfactants, was investigated on the adaxial and abaxial surfaces of pepper leaves at the seedling, early flowering, and fruiting stages. The microstructure of the leaf surface was characterized using an ultra-depth field microscope. The surface free energy (SFE) of the leaves was calculated using the Owens-Wendt-Rabel-Kaelble (OWRK) method. Additionally, the surface tension of the 28-HB solutions containing various surfactants, as well as the contact angles on pepper leaves at different growth stages, were measured. The experimental results indicate that the surface free energy (SFE) of pepper leaves significantly decreases with plant maturation. Specifically, the SFE of the adaxial leaf surface declined from 43.4 mJ/m2 at the seedling stage to 26.6 mJ/m2 at the fruiting stage, while the abaxial surface decreased from 27.5 mJ/m2 to 22.5 mJ/m2. At all growth stages, the relative polar component (RP) of the adaxial surface was consistently higher than that of the abaxial surface and showed a gradual decline from 94.70% to 57.34% as development progressed. The contact angle measurement showed that the addition of surfactant decreased the contact angle of 28-HB on the leaf surface and increased the wetting area. Among the tested formulations, the addition of fatty alcohol ethoxylates (AEO-9) significantly reduced the contact angle to below 45°, and resulted in an adhesion tension below 30 mN/m and adhesion work lower than 105 mJ/m2. These values indicate superior wetting performance compared to formulations containing sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB). This study integrates the surface free energy characteristics of pepper leaves at different growth stages with the wetting performance of various surfactant systems, providing a quantitative basis for the selection and optimization of surfactants in agricultural spray formulations. The findings offer theoretical support for precise pesticide application strategies, enhancing pesticide adhesion and absorption on leaf surfaces, thereby improving pesticide utilization efficiency throughout the crop growth cycle. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Technologies Applied in Horticultural Crop Protection)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

21 pages, 5528 KiB  
Article
Experimental and Simulation Study on the Ditching and Backfilling Characteristics of a 3DGZ-50A Self-Propelled Orchard Ditching Machine
by Mengmeng Niu, Huawei Yang, Qingyi Zhang, Peng Qi, Shaowei Wang, Huimin Fang and Hongbo Wen
Horticulturae 2025, 11(2), 171; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae11020171 - 5 Feb 2025
Viewed by 667
Abstract
The characteristics of soil ditching and backfilling are crucial for orchard ditching operations. However, experimentally investigating the dynamic ditching and backfilling process is currently not feasible. To address this issue, the 3DGZ-50A self-propelled orchard ditching machine (SPODM) was designed using a modular concept, [...] Read more.
The characteristics of soil ditching and backfilling are crucial for orchard ditching operations. However, experimentally investigating the dynamic ditching and backfilling process is currently not feasible. To address this issue, the 3DGZ-50A self-propelled orchard ditching machine (SPODM) was designed using a modular concept, incorporating three types of ditching cutter discs (01#, 02#, and 03#). These discs were designed, trial-manufactured, and tested in orchard ditching experiments. A corresponding simulation model was also constructed using EDEM 2022 software. This study evaluated the ditching and backfilling process, analyzing the performance of the three cutter discs through experimental and simulation methods. Results indicated that the 01# and 02# cutter discs created V-shaped furrows, whereas the 03# cutter disc formed an arc-shaped furrow. The relative errors in the final furrow depth (Df) and width (Wf) between experimental and simulated results were 30.70% and 8.61%, respectively, while those in the maximum furrow depth (Dm) and width (Wm) were 9.44% and 3.00%. These minor relative errors confirmed the accuracy of the simulation model. Regarding maximum power consumption, the 01# cutter disc used 86.3% of the power consumed by the 02# cutter disc and 85.1% of that used by the 03# cutter disc. During the ditching process, the blades penetrated the soil to create the maximum furrow cross-section, which then gradually decreased due to backfilling. Both simulation and test results demonstrated that the 01# cutter disc performed best, achieving a maximum furrow cross-sectional area (46.70%), minimum final surface furrow cross-sectional area (6.04%), and lower power consumption (31.03 kW). This study provides equipment for ditching operations in low-height close-planting orchards in northern China. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Technologies Applied in Horticultural Crop Protection)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-2
Back to TopTop