Topic Review
Sustainable Desert Agriculture Systems with Saline Groundwater Irrigation
Agricultural land expansion is a solution to address global food security challenges in the context of climate change. However, the sustainability of expansion in arid countries is difficult because of scarce surface water resources, groundwater salinity, and the health of salt-affected soil. Developing expansion and sustainability plans for agriculture requires systems thinking, considering the complex feedback interactions between saline groundwater, salt-affected soil, plant growth, freshwater mixing with saline groundwater, irrigation systems, and the application of soil amendments to alleviate the salinity impacts.
  • 211
  • 20 Jan 2023
Topic Review
Agricultural Drainage
Practicing agricultural drainage strategies is necessary to manage excess water in poorly drained irrigated farmlands to protect them from induced waterlogging and salinity problems. 
  • 326
  • 16 Jan 2023
Topic Review
Non-Destructive Quality-Detection Techniques for Cereal Grains
Grain quality involves the appearance, nutritional, and safety attributes of grains. With the improvement of people’s living standards, problems pertaining to the quality of grains have received greater attention. Modern quality detection techniques feature unique advantages including rapidness, non-destructiveness, accuracy, and efficiency in detecting grain quality.
  • 394
  • 09 Jan 2023
Topic Review
Machine Vision Techniques in Agriculture
Introducing machine vision-based automation to the agricultural sector is essential to meet the food demand of a rapidly growing population. Furthermore, extensive labor and time are required in agriculture; hence, agriculture automation is a major concern and an emerging subject. Machine vision-based automation can improve productivity and quality by reducing errors and adding flexibility to the work process. Primarily, machine vision technology has been used to develop crop production systems by detecting stresses and diseases more efficiently.
  • 272
  • 06 Jan 2023
Topic Review
Indonesia Rice Irrigation System
Indonesia is likely to face a water crisis due to mismanagement of water resources, inefficient water systems, and weak institutions and regulatory organizations. In 2020, most of the fresh water in Indonesia was used for irrigation (74%) to support the agricultural sector, which occupies 30% of the total land area in Indonesia. Of all agricultural commodities, rice is one of the major and essential commodities, as it is the basic staple food for almost every Indonesian. However, in 2018, the Ministry of Public Works and Housing (MoPWH) reported that 46% of Indonesian irrigation infrastructure is moderately to heavily damaged. Aside from how climate change influences water availability for irrigation, rice production with a constant water ponding system has been found to contribute to climate change, as it emits methane (CH4) and other greenhouse gases from agricultural fields of Indonesia. Therefore, the required modernization of irrigation systems in Indonesia needs to consider several factors, such as food demands for the increasing population and the impact of irrigated agriculture on global warming. Multi-stakeholders, such as the government, farmers, water user associations (WUA), and local research institutions, need to work together on the modernization of irrigation systems in Indonesia to meet the increasing food demands of the growing population and to minimize the impacts of agriculture on climate change.
  • 358
  • 29 Dec 2022
Topic Review
Robotic Platform for Horticulture
The modern level of development of infocommunication and computer technologies, microprocessor technology and equipment, communication and positioning makes possible the development and practical application of automated and robotic technologies and technical means to improve the efficiency of agricultural production. Currently, intensive horticulture is becoming increasingly widespread due to rapid fruiting and high yield rates. At the same time, the process of harvesting apples in intensive horticulture is the most time-consuming, and harvesting is carried out mainly by a team of pickers. In the production process of cultivating fruit crops, this is an important final stage which requires the development of automated devices and robotic platforms with a control system capable of offline harvesting.
  • 406
  • 02 Dec 2022
Topic Review
Particulate Matter Generation and Mitigation in Poultry Houses
Poultry farming plays a key role in agricultural air emissions. Particulate matter (PM) level tends to be high in broiler and cage-free layer houses, that may impair health and welfare of animals and their caretakers. To protect public health and welfare, the occupational exposure limit for PM10 and PM2.5 (i.e., PM diameters that are generally ≤10 and 2.5 μm, respectively) are suggested not to exceed 150 µg m−3 and 35 µg m−3, respectively, based on 24-h concentrations thresholds as suggested by US. EPA. However, the levels of PM10 and PM2.5 in poultry houses could be 100 times higher than that limit. Generally, PM emissions are affected by various factors, including housing types, seasonal and diurnal variation, manure management, bedding materials, ventilation rates, and birds’ activities. High PM concentrations in poultry houses impair birds’ and caretakers’ liver, kidneys, and respiratory systems. Effective mitigation strategies include frequent house cleaning, optimum light intensity, liquid spraying, bedding management, and air filtration systems. However, mitigation strategies can be cost-prohibitive and have side effects. Therefore, poultry farms should select mitigation strategies based on farm location, climate conditions, environmental policies, and available resources (government assistance programs). 
  • 486
  • 29 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Major Losses in Wheat Combine Harvester Operation
Wheat harvesting is one of the most important links in the whole wheat production process. In China, the wheat planting areas are wide, and the patterns are diversified. In addition, the problem of harvest losses caused by the numerous brands and low performance of domestic combine harvesters has always existed. Any losses during harvesting will result in less income for the farmers.
  • 831
  • 28 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Solar-Powered Plant Protection Equipment
Solar photovoltaic (PV) devices present a positive approach to sustainable crop production by reducing crop loss in various ways. This might result in the extensive use of PV devices in the near future. PV-based plant protection equipment/devices are primarily utilized in protecting crops from birds, weeds, or insects. The utilization of PV systems for different applications constitutes a new era in agriculture, horticulture, and forest sectors. A PV system is a potential alternative, offering more opportunities in operating different types of electricity-based agricultural equipment. The development of devices with simple construction/operation for plant protection may work well on small-scale farms.
  • 723
  • 28 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Food Supply Chain Enchanced by Industry 5.0 Technologies
The consequences of a crisis for a society depend on the level of society preparedness for the crisis, infrastructure in place, and training and skills of people engaged. The technologies (e.g., IoE, CC, blockchain, AI, DT, and 6G) of Industry 5.0 are yet to be fully explored and exploited in ensuring the resilience and sustainability of food systems. Therefore, this research sketches out a complete concept of a food system using Industry 5.0 technologies, and the main focus has been given to the use of 6G, AI, blockchain, and digital twin (DT) at different processes from production to distribution and retail to help optimize the food supply chain and thwart any possible disruption thereof.
  • 822
  • 28 Nov 2022
  • Page
  • of
  • 16