About this Research Topic

Background

Phytoprotection is a crucial aspect of agricultural production encompassing fertilization, weeding, pest control, disease management, and more. Traditional biochemical methods for phytoprotection have significant disadvantages, including environmental pollution, potential harm to human health, and persistence of pest residues. Intelligent phytoprotection offers a promising solution to these issues by utilizing advanced technologies to minimize the reliance on biochemical agents. For instance, intelligent mechanical weeding eliminates the need for chemical herbicides. Given the rapid advancements in this field and the considerable interest from potential readers, this research topic aims to facilitate communication among researchers dedicated to developing innovative phytoprotection methods that mitigate the adverse effects of conventional biochemical approaches.

Currently, the application of sustainable and intelligent phytoprotection technologies on a large scale is limited. This limitation is indicative of the fact that relevant technologies and corresponding equipment are still predominantly in the research phase. Several practical challenges contribute to this situation, including the relatively low detection accuracy of weeds and seedlings, the lack of cost-effective methods for assessing soil nutrient content to guide variable fertilization, and the development of pesticide resistance due to the prolonged use of chemical pesticides.

This research topic focuses on addressing these fundamental problems by enhancing the accuracy of weed and seedling detection, developing technologies to capture and eliminate pests through intelligent mechanical methods, and identifying rapid soil nutrient detection techniques to support variable fertilization applications. We invite contributions that explore these and related areas.

In this research topic, we welcome all article types published by Frontiers in Plant Science that specialize in intelligent phytoprotection.

1. Cutting-edge technologies that improve the detection accuracy of seedlings and weeds.
2. Intelligent mechanical weeding equipment and systems that integrate these technologies and conduct field experiments.
3. State-of-the-art technologies that advance pest and disease detection, forecasting, and control.
4. Corresponding equipment capable of achieving pest and disease detection, forecasting, and control.
5. Technologies that enable rapid soil nutrient detection.
6. Technologies and machinery that facilitate variable fertilization applications.
7. Reviews discussing the technologies, machinery, development trends, and limitations related to variable fertilization, intelligent mechanical weeding, and smart pest and disease control.

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Data Report
• Editorial
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Policy and Practice Reviews
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Data Report
• Editorial
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Policy and Practice Reviews
• Review
• Systematic Review
• Technology and Code

Keywords: Intelligent Mechanical Weeding, Smart Pest Control, Physical Disease Control, Variable Fertilization, Sustainable and Intelligent Phytoprotection

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

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