Search Results (3,338)

Leaf senescence progressively remodels the photosynthetic apparatus, leading to impaired electron transport and declining carbon assimilation. Here, we investigated how dark-induced senescence (DIS) and exogenous 6-benzyladenine (BA) affect photosystem function, cyclic electron flow (CEF), photosynthetic protein remodeling and CO₂ assimilation in two barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) cultivars differing in their senescence characteristics, Carina (spring) and Lomerit (winter). DIS markedly reduced the chlorophyll content, PSI and PSII photochemistry, electron transport and CO₂ assimilation in both cultivars, although the underlying mechanisms differed. Carina maintained higher CEF despite stronger PSII inhibition, whereas Lomerit exhibited a greater decline in CEF accompanied by stronger donor- and acceptor-side limitations of PSI. These physiological responses coincided with the selective remodeling of proteins forming the PSI-associated electron transport network, including coordinated changes in cytochrome f, PGRL1, NdhS, FNR and photosystem antenna proteins, indicating the functional reorganization of photosynthetic electron transport rather than uniform chloroplast protein degradation. BA delayed senescence by preserving chlorophyll, maintaining PSI and PSII activity, sustaining CEF and partially alleviating the decline in CO₂ assimilation. The protective effects of BA were more pronounced in Carina and coincided with the more effective preservation of proteins associated with PSI-dependent electron transport. Collectively, our findings identify the selective stabilization of the PSI-associated electron transport network as a central mechanism underlying cytokinin-mediated delay of leaf senescence in barley and demonstrate that cultivar-dependent regulation of this network determines the effectiveness of cytokinin-mediated protection of photosynthesis. Full article

Purple celery (Apium graveolens L.) is a high-value functional vegetable rich in anthocyanins, but achieving a balanced optimization between biomass accumulation and nutritional quality in plant factories remains challenging due to species-specific spectral trade-offs, and current research lacks integrated light recipes that simultaneously optimize photosynthetic efficiency, antioxidant defenses, and functional quality while suppressing nitrate accumulation. This study evaluated five LED treatments over 30 days: white light (CK), monochromatic red (R), and red-to-blue photon flux density ratios of 5:5, 7:3, and 8:2. Red light induced stem elongation but suppressed root development. Conversely, 8R2B delivered the best performance, significantly elevating leaf, petiole, root, and total fresh biomass and increasing total dry weight by 68.8% over CK. It also markedly enhanced chlorophyll a, b, total chlorophyll, and carotenoids, as well as improved PSII quantum yield (YII), photochemical quenching (qP), and electron transport rate (ETR), while reducing non-photochemical heat dissipation (NPQ) by 61.0%, indicating superior light-use efficiency. Furthermore, 8R2B upregulated CAT and POD activities promoted soluble sugars (up 688.4% in leaves), soluble proteins, and ascorbic acid accumulation, yet reduced leaf nitrate by 28.5%. Principal component analysis confirmed 8R2B as the most effective formulation across all growth, photochemical, defense, and quality traits. These findings provide a novel, evidence-based 8:2 red-to-blue LED light recipe for high-yield, high-quality, and commercially viable purple celery production in controlled environment agriculture. Full article

Using vegetation indices for lithological signal detection is a well-known practice; however, these indices are characterized by strong equifinality, as they encapsulate both biochemical and biophysical characteristics, causing subtle lithological differences to be lost. Our study presents a new framework that breaks down the remote-sensed spectrum into physically grounded features. A nine-year (2017–2025) Sentinel-2 time series (310 scenes) was used to estimate biophysical parameters—chlorophyll content (C_ab), water content (C_w), and leaf area index (LAI)—using the 1D PROSAIL radiative transfer model in the Hațeg Basin. Random Forest and Multi-Layer Perceptron (MLP) classifiers were used with a rigorous spatial block-based cross-validation framework. The PROSAIL model decomposes the spectrum into independent, physically meaningful variables and substantially reduces the ambiguity problem associated with empirical indices. Using the combined dataset containing vegetation indices and biophysical parameters along with the MLP, we achieved 66.07% accuracy in forested areas and 68.80% in grassland areas. Feature importance analysis revealed that over dense forest cover, the MLP benefits from the indirect biochemical pathway (C_ab), while for grasslands, it favors the soil brightness scale (r_soil) during the late summer and fall periods. These results establish a PROSAIL-based workflow for vegetation-covered lithological mapping, demonstrating that the vegetative canopy operates as a decodable biogeochemical lens. Full article

Spot blotch has become a major devastating disease in wheat. In the current study, Faisalabad-08 was supplemented with various levels of selenium (Se) both in vitro and in greenhouse experiments (CRD, n = 3) to counter the spot blotch pathogen. The results revealed that minimum disease incidence was assessed in the case of T₂ (50 mg L⁻¹). However, maximum plant growth attributes, including plant height (PH), plant fresh weight (PFW), plant dry weight (PDW), leaf surface area (LSA), and root length (RL), were recorded in T₅ (50 mg L⁻¹ + pathogen). Similarly, chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, total chlorophyll, membrane stability index, carotenoid, relative water contents, proline, sugar, flavonoid, total phenolic content, SOD, POD, CAT, PPO, and PAL contents were enhanced in T₅ compared to other tested treatments. However, MDA, an oxidative damage marker, was significantly decreased with T₅. Correlation, PCA, and heatmap analysis suggested that all the attributes were significantly interrelated, except MDA, in defining the crop’s potential to sustain its growth under biotic stress. In crux, foliar Se application (50 mg L⁻¹) effectively mitigates spot blotch through enhanced antioxidant defense and physiological homeostasis. This sustainable approach offers a viable alternative to conventional fungicides for integrated wheat disease management. Full article

Populus hopeiensis is an important native poplar species in northern China, but herbivorous insect damage seriously affects its growth and ecological function. WRKY transcription factors play important roles in plant stress responses; however, the function of WRKY23 homologs in woody plant resistance to chewing herbivores remains unclear. In this study, a herbivore-responsive WRKY transcription factor gene, PhWRKY23, was identified from P. hopeiensis. PhWRKY23 expression was significantly induced by Spodoptera litura feeding, with a maximum increase of approximately 69.71-fold the control level at the highest damage level, and the encoded protein was predominantly localized in the nucleus. To investigate its function, PhWRKY23-overexpressing and RNA interference transgenic lines were generated. In the choice feeding assay, the consumed leaf area of PhWRKY23-overexpressing plants was approximately 85.5% lower than that of WT plants after 8 h. In the no-choice feeding assay, the total larval mass after 6 d was approximately 38.8% lower in larvae fed on overexpression plants and 51.0% higher in larvae fed on RNAi plants than in those fed on WT plants. Physiological analysis showed that RNAi plants accumulated significantly more MDA than WT and overexpression plants, whereas overexpression plants had higher chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, and carotenoid contents than the other genotypes. Phytohormone analysis further showed that PhWRKY23-overexpressing plants accumulated higher levels of jasmonic acid, jasmonoyl-L-isoleucine, and salicylic acid, whereas abscisic acid showed no significant difference among genotypes. Yeast two-hybrid screening identified several candidate PhWRKY23-interacting proteins, and pairwise validation confirmed that PhWRKY23 interacted with PhDOX1 in yeast. These results indicate that PhWRKY23 positively contributes to herbivore resistance in P. hopeiensis and that this resistance phenotype is associated with changes in JA, JA-Ile, and SA accumulation and defense-related physiological traits. Full article

High temperature can impair leaf water status, photosynthetic function, and membrane stability in ornamental woody seedlings. However, integrated evidence combining gas exchange, chlorophyll fluorescence, oxidative injury, antioxidant activity, and osmotic-adjustment-related responses in heat-stressed Syringa oblata remains limited. One-year-old seedlings from a single nursery batch were exposed for 7 d to 25/18 °C or 40/30 °C day/night conditions and sprayed with either a solvent solution or 0.5 mM salicylic acid. Growth, leaf water status, photosynthetic pigments, gas exchange, pulse-amplitude-modulated fluorescence, OJIP/JIP-test parameters, oxidative-injury markers, antioxidant enzyme activities, and osmotic-adjustment-related compounds were evaluated. Heat treatment reduced leaf relative water content, photosynthetic performance, and photosystem II function and increased reactive oxygen species accumulation, lipid peroxidation, and electrolyte leakage. Compared with heat treatment alone, seedlings receiving salicylic acid under heat showed an 82.2% higher net photosynthetic rate, a 12.2% higher maximum quantum efficiency of photosystem II, and a 116.4% higher performance index on an absorption basis. Hydrogen peroxide, malondialdehyde, and electrolyte leakage were 35.1%, 35.8%, and 32.5% lower, respectively. Antioxidant enzyme activities were also higher under heat plus salicylic acid than under heat alone, whereas additional increases in proline and soluble sugars were not statistically confirmed; soluble protein was partially maintained. Gas exchange was measured after treatment at a common leaf-chamber temperature of 25 °C and therefore represented retained photosynthetic capacity under standardized conditions. Overall, foliar application of 0.5 mM salicylic acid was associated with partial maintenance of photosynthetic function and lower oxidative injury during short-term heat exposure. Because one chamber was assigned to each treatment combination in a single experimental run, possible chamber-specific effects could not be statistically separated from treatment-related differences. Independent validation is therefore required. Full article

Chlorophyll content is a key determinant of photosynthetic efficiency and grain yield in rice (Oryza sativa L.), while premature chlorophyll degradation during the reproductive stage can markedly reduce crop productivity. However, the genetic basis underlying chlorophyll degradation and its environmental responsiveness remains incompletely understood. In this study, an F₂ population derived from a cross between the japonica cultivar Shennong0530-9 and the indica cultivar Habataki was used to identify quantitative trait loci (QTLs) associated with chlorophyll content at different developmental stages. A total of 22 QTLs were detected; among these, qCD2 consistently showed a major and stable effect on chlorophyll degradation after heading. Fine mapping using residual heterozygous lines delimited qCD2 to a 54.0 kb genomic interval on the short arm of chromosome 2 containing nine predicted genes. Near-isogenic lines (NIL-qCD2) carrying the qCD2 allele exhibited accelerated chlorophyll loss after heading, accompanied by disrupted chloroplast ultrastructure, reduced photosynthetic capacity, and significant decreases in grain yield and grain quality compared with the recurrent parent. Furthermore, the chlorophyll-deficient phenotype became progressively more severe under elevated temperature conditions, indicating that the phenotypic effect associated with qCD2 is temperature sensitive. Consistent with these physiological changes, the expression patterns of genes involved in chloroplast development, photosynthesis, and leaf senescence were significantly altered in NIL-qCD2. Collectively, these results identify qCD2 as a stable QTL associated with chlorophyll degradation during the reproductive stage and provide a foundation for future identification of the causal gene, providing valuable genetic resources for the molecular breeding of rice with improved photosynthetic efficiency, grain yield, and grain quality. Full article

Phosphorus (P) deficiency is a major factor governing peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) productivity, and the physiological mechanisms by which different genotypes (with contrasting photosynthetic capacities) coordinate carbon assimilation and photoprotection remain elusive. This study elucidated the strategic divergence among different peanut genotypes in their foliar photosystems to perform physiological homeostasis under low-phosphorus (LP) conditions. Based on a peanut mini-core collection, six representative accessions with contrasting photosynthetic capacities were selected and categorized into high- and low-photosynthetic functional groups. We integrated leaf gas exchange, chlorophyll fluorescence, the trans-thylakoid proton gradient (ΔpH), and antioxidant enzyme assays to evaluate their adaptive responses to low-P stress relative to the high-P (HP) control. Our results demonstrated that LP stress induced widespread photosynthetic inhibition across all accessions; this suppression was primarily driven by non-stomatal limitations. Under LP stress, high-Pn accessions exhibited superior cyclic electron flow (CEF) plasticity synergized with highly plastic guaiacol peroxidase (POD) activity, suppressing the leaf-level ROS burst and maintaining a substantial ΔpH for ATP synthesis and PSI stability. Conversely, low-Pn accessions suffered from severe oxidative overload and relied heavily on passive thermal dissipation, characterized by elevated non-photochemical quenching (NPQ) values and restricted CEF engagement. Principal component analysis (PCA) confirmed that while baseline biochemical impairments were universal, the capacity to dynamically modulate this ΔpH-dependent regulatory network—which integrates CEF, cytochrome b6f photosynthetic control, and antenna-level NPQ—served as the decisive determinant underlying genotypic variations in photosystem resilience under P deficiency. This study demonstrated that peanut genotypes deploy divergent, ΔpH-centered strategies to balance light energy distribution under P-limited conditions. These findings provide a novel and plausible mechanistic framework for selecting and breeding P-efficient peanut cultivars in poor soils with enhanced photosystem resilience. Full article

Waterlogging restricts root-zone oxygen availability and can impair seedling growth and leaf quality in mulberry. Root-zone aeration may reduce waterlogging injury, but its effects on root anaerobic metabolism, photosynthesis, oxidative stress, and leaf functional quality have not been well integrated. In this study, Morus alba L. ‘Longsang No. 1’ seedlings were subjected to four treatments: normal moisture without aeration (CK), normal moisture with intermittent root-zone aeration (RA), waterlogging without aeration (WL), and waterlogging with intermittent root-zone aeration (WL+RA). Waterlogging was maintained with a water layer 1–2 cm above the substrate surface, and root-zone aeration was supplied using an air pump and microporous aeration stones for 30 min every 4 h. Root-zone dissolved oxygen, growth traits, root activity, root fermentative indicators, root and leaf oxidative injury, gas exchange, chlorophyll fluorescence, antioxidant enzyme activities, and leaf quality-related traits were measured after 14 d of treatment. Waterlogging decreased root-zone dissolved oxygen from 6.62 to 1.69 mg L⁻¹. It also reduced plant height, total leaf area, shoot and root dry weight, root activity, Pn, Fv/Fm, Y(II), and ETR. In contrast, WL increased ADH and PDC activities, lactate and ethanol contents, MDA, H₂O₂, electrolyte leakage, and NPQ. Leaf 1-DNJ, polysaccharides, total phenolics, total flavonoids, DPPH, ABTS, and FRAP were also reduced under WL. Intermittent aeration increased root-zone dissolved oxygen to 4.64 mg L⁻¹ under waterlogging and partially alleviated many of these changes. WL+RA showed higher growth, root activity, photosynthetic performance, PSII photochemical efficiency, antioxidant enzyme activities, and leaf functional quality than WL. These results indicate that intermittent root-zone aeration was associated with better mulberry seedling performance under waterlogging, together with changes in root-zone oxygen status, fermentation metabolism, photosynthesis, oxidative balance, and leaf quality. Full article

Micro-sprinkler irrigation is commonly used to optimize plant growing environments and prevent growth inhibition and yield losses caused by high air temperatures (T_a) in greenhouses. Nevertheless, instantaneous photosynthetic rate measurements suffer from time lag, and the temporally dynamic microclimate alterations induced by micro-sprinkling make it difficult to reproduce the real ambient conditions for crop growth. Therefore, two treatments, namely micro-sprinkling combined with drip irrigation (MSDI) and conventional drip irrigation control (DI), were established in a Venlo-type greenhouse. Continuous chlorophyll fluorescence (ChlF) monitoring combined with rapid light curves under fixed photosynthetically active radiation was adopted to investigate the diurnal alleviation effects of micro-sprinkling on tomatoes under high-temperature stress. This study found that Φ_PSII was more sensitive than Fv/Fm in detecting changes in PSII photochemical performance under high-temperature stress. Micro-sprinkling showed greater mitigation effects under moderate heat stress, with the highest enhancement in Φ_PSII (approximately 0.12) observed when leaf temperature (T_l) was around 34.5 °C. However, the improvement effect decreased under extreme heat conditions, and Φ_PSII increased by only 0.017 when T_a exceeded 38 °C. The slope of the fitted line between Φ_PSII and PAR on sunny days increased with increasing heat stress, indicating the enhanced sensitivity of PSII photochemical regulation to thermal stress. Compared with DI, MSDI increased tomato yield by 31.2% and 47.6% in 2021 and 2022, respectively, while improving fruit quality by increasing single fruit weight, fruit shape index, and soluble sugar content. In addition, MSDI increased SPAD, Fv/Fm, Φ_PSII, and ETR by 9.6–15.6%, 8.8–14.8%, 10.3–13.3%, and 10.3–19.6%, respectively, indicating improved PSII photochemical performance under high-temperature conditions. In conclusion, micro-sprinkling mitigated part of the negative effects of high-temperature stress and significantly improved tomato yields and fruit quality, which could be used in agricultural production. Full article

Leaf color variation is an important ornamental trait in bamboo and is primarily determined by chlorophyll accumulation. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying leaf color differentiation in Sinobambusa tootsik f. albostriata remain largely unclear. In this study, fully green (WG) and fully white (WW) leaf buds at three developmental stages (S1–S3) were analyzed to investigate the regulatory mechanisms associated with chlorophyll accumulation and identify key functional genes. Chlorophyll content determination, coproporphyrinogen III oxidase (CPOX) activity assays, and comparative transcriptome analysis were integrated to identify candidate genes involved in leaf color formation. Six StaHemF family members were identified, and StaHemF5 was selected as the primary candidate based on phylogenetic relationships and expression patterns. Compared with WG leaf buds, WW leaf buds exhibited significantly reduced chlorophyll contents and CPOX activities throughout development, indicating impaired chlorophyll biosynthesis. StaHemF5 encodes a chloroplast-localized protein and displays consistent expression trends between transcriptome analysis and qRT-PCR validation. Functional characterization revealed that transient overexpression of StaHemF5 in Nicotiana benthamiana significantly enhanced CPOX activity and chlorophyll accumulation, suggesting a positive role of StaHemF5 in chlorophyll biosynthesis. Collectively, these results demonstrate that StaHemF5 is a conserved HemF family member involved in chlorophyll accumulation and contributes to leaf color differentiation in S. tootsik f. albostriata. This study provides new insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying bamboo leaf color variation and identifies a potential candidate gene for the genetic improvement of ornamental bamboo. Full article

Agrivoltaic (APV) systems enable the simultaneous production of food and renewable electricity. They create spatially heterogeneous environments that influence crop productivity. The quantitative relationships linking cumulative photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) with wheat productivity remain poorly studied. The objective of this study was to quantify the spatial distribution of cumulative PAR beneath a commercial single-axis tracking APV system and determine its relationship with wheat flowering, physiological responses, and grain yield. Wheat was cultivated across a 19-row transect between photovoltaic arrays at the Bar-Ilan University Agrivoltaic Research Farm, Israel. Cumulative PAR was measured separately for flowering (88 days after sowing, DAS) and physiological maturity (158 DAS). Physiological traits (plant height, SPAD chlorophyll index, and leaf nitrogen concentration), flowering, grain yield, and yield loss were quantified along the radiation gradient. Cumulative PAR varied among the 19 rows from 347 to 1917 mol m⁻² at flowering and from 1570 to 4451 mol m⁻² at maturity, while corresponding PAR losses ranged from 82.2% to 1.6% and 65.2% to 1.3%, respectively. Flowering increased from 33% in the most shaded row to 100% in the central rows and exhibited a strong quadratic relationship with cumulative PAR (R² = 0.916; r = 0.913; p < 0.001). Plant height increased with increasing cumulative PAR, whereas SPAD and leaf nitrogen were greatest in the shaded edge rows, indicating physiological acclimation to reduced irradiance. Grain yield ranged from 2.96 to 6.04 t ha⁻¹, corresponding to 46.2% yield loss to a 9.8% yield gain relative to the open-field reference. Grain yield was strongly associated with cumulative PAR (R² = 0.811; r = 0.862; p < 0.001), while grain-yield loss closely followed PAR loss (R² = 0.842; r = −0.883; p < 0.001). The results demonstrate that cumulative seasonal PAR is the principal environmental variable governing wheat development and productivity beneath tracking APV systems. The predictive equations developed here provide a practical framework for designing agrivoltaic systems that maximize crop productivity while maintaining efficient photovoltaic electricity generation. Full article

Polyploidization can generate morphological and physiological variation in plants, but the molecular basis underlying leaf trait changes after genome doubling in grapevine remains insufficiently understood. This study aimed to characterize phenotypic, physiological, transcriptomic, and metabolomic differences between diploid and induced autotetraploid plants of ‘Thompson Seedless’ and to identify biological processes potentially associated with the observed leaf trait variation. In this study, autotetraploid plants were induced from axillary buds of ‘Thompson Seedless’ using colchicine treatment, and ploidy levels were confirmed by flow cytometry and chromosome counting. Phenotypic, physiological, transcriptomic, and metabolomic analyses were performed to compare diploid and tetraploid plants. Compared with diploids, tetraploids exhibited enlarged leaves, reduced plant stature, larger but less dense stomata, increased chloroplast number in guard cells, and higher total chlorophyll and carotenoid contents. Fv/Fm remained unchanged, whereas increased Vj and decreased ψEo and φEo suggested differences in electron transport-related characteristics beyond QA. Transcriptomic analysis identified 1564 differentially expressed genes, and metabolomic profiling detected 618 differentially accumulated metabolites. Integrated analyses highlighted coordinated molecular differences associated mainly with cell-wall processes, secondary metabolism, redox-related functions, and carbon-related pathways. These findings identify candidate biological processes for future functional validation and provide a basis for evaluating the potential value of autotetraploid germplasm in grapevine breeding. Full article

Saline–alkali stress is a widespread abiotic stress that severely impairs crop growth and yield formation. Iron Chlorin e6 (ICe6), a novel plant growth regulator, is essentially a chlorophyll derivative, and possesses potential application value in regulating plant chlorophyll metabolism and improving plant stress resistance. In this study, the saline–alkali-sensitive soybean cultivar Henong 95 and saline–alkali-tolerant soybean cultivar Hefeng 50 were used as experimental materials, and foliar spraying with 120 nmol/L ICe6 was conducted at the R1 stage. The results indicated that relative to CK, SA treatment markedly inhibited soybean growth, accompanied by reduced antioxidant capacity, excessive reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation and significantly lowered photosynthetic pigment content. Carbohydrate accumulation was substantially suppressed, which ultimately resulted in yield reduction (HN95: −12.31%; HF50: −11.08%). ICe6 treatment mitigated saline–alkali-induced growth inhibition in soybean plants, as reflected by markedly restored antioxidant indices, sharply decreased malondialdehyde (MDA), H₂O₂, and O₂⁻ levels, and notably increased leaf area (HN95: +49.72%; HF50: +19.82%) and chlorophyll content (HN95: +36.06%; HF50: +90.75%). Combined transcriptomic and metabolomic profiling showed that, relative to the SA control, ICe6 treatment led to the identification of 2896 DEGs in HN95 and 3530 DEGs in HF50, with significant enrichment in photosynthesis- and chlorophyll metabolism-related pathways, e.g., GO:0009765 (photosynthesis, light harvesting). Differential metabolites were chiefly enriched in isoflavonoid biosynthesis—a source of antioxidants—and amino acid biosynthesis, which governs chlorophyll precursor synthesis. These findings suggest that ICe6 may enhance chlorophyll content by modulating the expression of genes involved in chlorophyll metabolism, contributing to light capture and chlorophyll biosynthesis, facilitating carbohydrate accumulation and ultimately contributing to increased yield under saline–alkali stress (HN95: +5.74%; HF50: +5.83%). Full article

Magnetic field (MF) technologies have been explored in agriculture since the 1930s, with research activity increasing markedly since 2016. However, they have not achieved mainstream adoption, partly because no MF-specific validated methodology exists for evaluating their effects under realistic field conditions. Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV)-based multispectral sensing represents a potential pathway to address this limitation by providing spatially explicit, non-destructive estimates of key canopy physiological variables at field scale, thereby enabling, for the first time, the systematic evaluation and validation of MF treatment responses under open-field conditions. To realise this potential, however, a common evidential basis must first be established by identifying crop physiological variables that are both consistently modulated by MF treatments and reliably detectable by UAV remote sensing. This study addressed this challenge through a dual-stream evidence synthesis of 216 peer-reviewed publications, comprising 102 studies on MF treatments in agricultural crops and 114 studies on UAV-based multispectral monitoring. Evidence from both research domains was synthesised to identify physiological variables that are simultaneously responsive to MF treatments and detectable through UAV remote sensing. Five direct bridge variables were identified: chlorophyll content, nitrogen use efficiency (NUE)/nitrogen assimilation, above-ground biomass (AGB), leaf area index (LAI), and yield. Chlorophyll content emerged as the strongest bridge variable, combining consistent MF responsiveness with UAV estimation accuracies of up to R² = 0.90. Based on these findings, a conceptual framework was developed linking MF treatments, UAV-derived vegetation indices, ground-truth measurements, and machine-learning approaches for field-scale validation. The review revealed a complete absence of integration between the two research domains within the reviewed corpus, despite their strong biological and methodological compatibility. The proposed framework is conceptual and remains to be experimentally validated; it provides the first operational pathway for evaluating MF technologies under realistic farming conditions and may support future research on sustainable and digitally enabled crop production systems. Full article