Novel technologies are playing an important role in the development of crop and livestock farming and have the potential to be the key drivers of sustainable intensification of agricultural systems. In particular, new sensors are now available with reduced dimensions, reduced costs, and increased performances, which can be implemented and integrated in production systems, providing more data and eventually an increase in information. It is of great importance to support the digital transformation, precision agriculture, and smart farming, and to eventually allow a revolution in the way food is produced. In order to exploit these results, authoritative studies from the research world are still needed to support the development and implementation of new solutions and best practices. This Special Issue is aimed at bringing together recent developments related to novel sensors and their proved or potential applications in agriculture.

Novel technologies are playing an important role in the development of crop and livestock farming and have the potential to be the key drivers of sustainable intensification of agricultural systems. In particular, new sensors are now available with reduced dimensions, reduced costs, and increased performances, which can be implemented and integrated in production systems, providing more data and eventually an increase in information. It is of great importance to support the digital transformation, precision agriculture, and smart farming, and to eventually allow a revolution in the way food is produced. In order to exploit these results, authoritative studies from the research world are still needed to support the development and implementation of new solutions and best practices. This Special Issue is aimed at bringing together recent developments related to novel sensors and their proved or potential applications in agriculture.

Agriculture requires technical solutions for increasing production while lessening environmental impact by reducing the application of agro-chemicals and increasing the use of environmentally friendly management practices. A benefit of this is the reduction of production costs. Sensor technologies produce tools to achieve the abovementioned goals. The explosive technological advances and developments in recent years have enormously facilitated the attainment of these objectives, removing many barriers for their implementation, including the reservations expressed by farmers. Precision agriculture and ‘smart farming’ are emerging areas where sensor-based technologies play an important role. Farmers, researchers, and technical manufacturers are joining their efforts to find efficient solutions, improvements in production, and reductions in costs. This book brings together recent research and developments concerning novel sensors and their applications in agriculture. Sensors in agriculture are based on the requirements of farmers, according to the farming operations that need to be addressed.

Sensing Approaches for Precision Agriculture aims to bring together the ‘state of the art’ of the most popular sensing techniques and the current state of research on the application of sensors in Precision Agriculture (PA). Sensing is of great value in PA because it provides cheap and immediate data for management. This book gives a broad overview of sensing in PA and a coherent introduction for new professionals and research scientists. Readers are introduced to the potential applications of a range of different sensors, how they should be used properly and their limitations for use in PA. Chapters on specific topics and case studies provide depth and enable implementation of the methods by users. A general introduction about sensing techniques in PA is followed by Chapters 2–9 on the most important specific techniques in sensing and Chapters 10–13 include mini-case studies, each showing cutting-edge applications for different sensing methods. Finally, there is an Epilogue on how we expect sensors and analysis to develop.

Nanosensors for Smart Agriculture covers new breakthroughs in smart agriculture, highlighting new technologies, such as the internet of things, big data and artificial intelligence. In addition, the book provides the many advantages of nanosensors over their micro counterparts, such as lower power consumption, higher sensitivity, lower concentration of analytes, and smaller interaction distances between the object and sensor. Sections provide information on fundamental design concepts and emerging applications of nanosensors in smart agriculture. The book highlights how, when cultivating soil, nanosensors and their wireless networks can be used for soil quality monitoring (moisture/herbicides/organic compound/trace metals monitoring in soil, etc. Other applications cover how smart nanosensors can be used for virus detection and hygiene/pathogen controls in livestocks, their use as active transport tracking devices for smart tracking and tracing, and other various applications, such as (i) nanochips for identity (radio frequency identification), (ii) food inspection, (iii) intelligent food packaging, and (iv) smart storage. This is an important reference source for materials scientists and agricultural engineers who are looking to understand more about how nanosensor technology can be used to create more efficient and sustainable agricultural systems. Outlines the fabrication and fundamental design concepts of nanosensors for agricultural applications Explains how nanosensors are being used throughout the agricultural cycle – from crop growth to food manufacturing Assesses major challenges surrounding the application of nanosensors to agricultural applications in mass scale

This book reviews the application of nanosensors in food and agriculture. Nanotechnology has the potential to become transformative technology that will impact almost all sectors. Tools like nanosensors, which detect specific molecular interactions, can be used for on-site, in-situ and online measurements of various parameters in clinical diagnostics, environmental and food monitoring, and quality control. Due to their unprecedented performance and sensitivity, nanobiosensors are gaining importance in precision farming. The book examines the use of nanobiosensors in the monitoring of food additives, toxins and mycotoxins, microbial contamination, food allergens, nutritional constituents, pesticides, environmental parameters, plant diseases and genetically modified organisms. It also discusses the role of biosensors in increasing crop productivity in sustainable agriculture, and nanosensor-based smart delivery systems to optimize the use of natural resources such as water, nutrients and agrochemicals in precision farming.

Remote Sensing in Precision Agriculture: Transforming Scientific Advancement into Innovation compiles the latest applications of remote sensing in agriculture using spaceborne, airborne and drones’ geospatial data. The book presents case studies, new algorithms and the latest methods surrounding crop sown area estimation, determining crop health status, assessment of vegetation dynamics, crop diseases identification, crop yield estimation, soil properties, drone image analysis for crop damage assessment, and other issues in precision agriculture. This book is ideal for those seeking to explore and implement remote sensing in an effective and efficient manner with its compendium of scientifically and technologically sound information. Presents a well-integrated collection of chapters, with quality, consistency and continuity Provides the latest RS techniques in Precision Agriculture that are addressed by leading experts Includes detailed, yet geographically global case studies that can be easily understood, reproduced or implemented Covers geospatial data, with codes available through shared links