Recent Advances in Remote Sensing, Image Processing, and Deep Learning for Precision Agriculture

A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant Modeling".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2026 | Viewed by 1843

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
College of Information and Intelligence, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, China
Interests: machine learning; remote sensing image processing; smart agriculture

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Guest Editor
College of Agromomy, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, China
Interests: crop phenomics; molecular breeding

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Precision agriculture is undergoing a vital transformation, driven by the synergistic advancements in remote sensing, image processing, and deep learning. As the global demand for food increases amid climate change and limited resources, the need for efficient, sustainable, and data-driven farming practices has never been greater.

Remote sensing, from satellite imagery to drone-mounted sensors, provides a wealth of data on crop health, soil conditions, and environmental factors. However, extracting actionable insights from these complex data demands sophisticated methods. Deep learning, particularly CNNs and RNNs, excels at identifying subtle patterns in image data, enabling tasks such as disease detection, yield prediction, and nutrient assessment.

This Special Issue will collect high-quality papers presenting novel remote sensing techniques for early stress detection, advanced image processing for phenological monitoring, the application of deep learning for automated crop management, etc. Thus, this Special Issue is open to anyone who wants to submit a relevant research manuscript.

Dr. Yang-Jun Deng
Dr. Jinling Liu
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • precision agriculture technology
  • agricultural remote sensing image processing
  • deep learning/AI for agricultural information analysis
  • remote sensing for crop monitoring
  • yield prediction
  • plant phenotype
  • pest and disease detection and identification
  • soil health management via deep learning, remote sensing, etc.
  • intelligent breeding technology

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

46 pages, 26174 KB  
Article
VNIR Hyperspectral Signatures for Early Detection and Machine-Learning Classification of Wheat Diseases
by Rimma M. Ualiyeva, Mariya M. Kaverina, Anastasiya V. Osipova, Yernar B. Kairbayev, Sayan B. Zhangazin, Nurgul N. Iksat and Nariman B. Mapitov
Plants 2025, 14(23), 3644; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14233644 - 29 Nov 2025
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1512
Abstract
This article presents the results of a comprehensive study aimed at developing automated diagnostic methods for identifying spring wheat phytopathologies using hyperspectral imaging (HSI). The research aimed to create an effective plant disease detection system, including at the early stages, which is critically [...] Read more.
This article presents the results of a comprehensive study aimed at developing automated diagnostic methods for identifying spring wheat phytopathologies using hyperspectral imaging (HSI). The research aimed to create an effective plant disease detection system, including at the early stages, which is critically important for ensuring food security in regions where wheat plays a key role in the agro-industrial sector. The study analyses the spectral characteristics of major wheat diseases, including powdery mildew, fusarium head blight, septoria glume blotch, root rots, various types of leaf spots, brown rust, and loose smut. Healthy plants differ from diseased ones in that they show a mostly uniform tone without distinct spots or patches on hyperspectral images, and their spectra have a consistent shape without sharp fluctuations. In contrast, disease spectra, differ sharply from those of healthy areas and can take diverse forms. Wheat diseases with a light coating (powdery mildew, fusarium head blight) exhibit high reflectance; chlorosis in the early stages of diseases (rust, leaf spot, septoria leaf blotch) exhibits curves with medium reflectance, and diseases with dark colouration (loose smut, root rot) have low reflectance values. These differences in reflectance among fungal diseases are caused by pigments produced by the pathogens, which either strongly absorb light or reflect most of it. The presence or absence of pigment production is determined by adaptive mechanisms. Based on these patterns in the spectral characteristics and optical properties of the diseases, a classification model was developed with 94% overall accuracy. Random Forest proved to be the most effective method for the automated detection of wheat phytopathogens using hyperspectral data. The practical significance of this research lies in the potential integration of the developed phytopathology detection approach into precision agriculture systems and the use of UAV platforms, enabling rapid large-scale crop monitoring for the timely detection. The study’s results confirm the promising potential of combining hyperspectral technologies and machine learning methods for monitoring the phytosanitary condition of crops. Our findings contribute to the advancement of digital agriculture and are particularly valuable for the agro-industrial sector of Central Asia, where adopting precision farming technologies is a strategic priority given the climatic risks and export-oriented nature of grain production. Full article
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