Smart Field Practices for Next-Generation Agricultural Production Systems

Dear Colleagues,

New-age technologies have the potential to revolutionize agriculture by making it more sustainable, efficient, and productive. These technologies will allow farmers to optimize their use of resources, reduce waste, and improve transparency and traceability in the food supply chain. Precision agriculture, for example, enables farmers to target inputs like water, fertilizer, and pesticides to specific field areas, resulting in improved crop yields and reduced environmental impact. Field automation can also help farmers to reduce labour costs, increase productivity, and minimize environmental impact. By using artificial intelligence to analyze data from various sources, farmers can make more informed decisions about when to irrigate, fertilize, and harvest crops. IoT-based crop management utilizing blockchain technology in supply chain monitoring will ensure that the food produces is safe, high-quality, and transparently traced from farm to table. Next-generation agricultural practices have the potential to transform agriculture by enhancing sustainability, efficiency, and profitability while also improving the safety and quality of the food we consume.

This Special Issue calls for contributions that address smart field practices for next-generation agricultural systems that aim to optimize agricultural production by integrating the latest technologies while preserving and enhancing the natural resources of the environment. Alternatively, contributions that may examine the potential of digital agriculture to strengthen the efficiency of farm operations and improve decision-making and other related topics (see below) are highly welcome.

Topics include but are not limited to:

1. Precision agriculture: This involves implementing advanced technologies such as drones and IoT sensors to gather data on soil, weather, and plant health, allowing farmers to make more informed decisions about planting, fertilizing, and harvesting crops.
2. Smart irrigation protocols: New-age technologies to optimize irrigation systems and improve water use efficiency in agriculture. The use of sensors, controllers, and software to monitor soil moisture, weather conditions, and crop water needs in real-time.
3. Integrated pest, disease, and nutrient management: Decision support tools and models that integrate biological, cultural, and chemical methods to manage pests and diseases while supplementing plants with adequate nutrients and practicing conservation agriculture.
4. Energy smart farming: Using renewable energy sources to power agricultural operations while reducing energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. Recent integrated approaches (e.g., agrivoltaics) can potentially address agricultural and energy issues simultaneously.

This Special Issue aims to support the development of more sustainable and efficient agricultural systems that benefit both farmers and the environment.

All types of scientific contributions, including empirical studies, research articles, and critical reviews related to the above topics, are welcome for inclusion in this publication.

Prof. Dr. Sudheesh Manalil
Dr. V.S. Manivasagam
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. Land 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 2600 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.