Smart Orchards: Technologies, Innovations and Sustainable Practices
A Special Issue of Horticulturae (ISSN 2311-7524) belonging to the section "Fruit Production Systems".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 May 2027 | Viewed by 110
Editors
Interests: precision horticulture; fruit tree physiology; proximal and remote sensing; plant water status; plant nutrient status; smart orchard management; artificial intelligence in agriculture; fruit growth and quality
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: horticulture; smart farming; plant physiology and ecophysiology; technical advancements; fruit crops
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: precision horticulture; proximal and remote sensing in fruit crops; fruit tree physiology; sustainable orchard management, and innovation in fruit production systems
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Fruit tree production is increasingly challenged by climate variability, water scarcity, rising input costs, labor shortages, and the need to improve sustainability while maintaining yield and fruit quality. In this context, smart orchard technologies are becoming essential tools to support data-driven decision-making and optimize resource use in modern horticultural systems.
This Special Issue aims to collect original research articles and reviews focused on innovative sensing technologies, data-driven approaches, and sustainable management strategies for precision fruit production. Contributions may address plant-based and proximal sensing systems for assessing water and nutrient status; remote sensing applications using UAV, airborne, and satellite platforms; thermal, multispectral, hyperspectral, RGB, fluorescence, and LiDAR/3D imaging; integration of proximal and remote sensing approaches; artificial intelligence and machine learning for prediction and decision support; and digital tools for orchard management. Particular attention is given to applications related to irrigation and fertilization management, canopy architecture and pruning, fruit growth and ripening monitoring, yield prediction, and fruit quality assessment.
This Special Issue welcomes the submission of studies conducted in different fruit tree systems, including temperate, subtropical, and Mediterranean orchards, and encourages interdisciplinary approaches integrating agronomy, plant physiology, engineering, and data science. The final goal is to promote the development of smart, sustainable, and resilient orchard systems capable of addressing current and future challenges in fruit production.
Dr. Alessandro Carella
Dr. Alessio Scalisi
Dr. Roberto Massenti
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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.
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-anonymized 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 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
- smart horticulture
- proximal sensing systems in orchards
- remote sensing
- integration of proximal and remote sensing
- artificial intelligence
- sustainable orchard management
- computer vision
- water and nutrient status assessment
- canopy management
- fruit growth and ripening monitoring
- fruit quality
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