Global climate change has led to frequent extreme weather events such as high temperatures and droughts, severely threatening the heat and water balance during the growing season of summer maize. To adapt to these changes, adjusting planting dates to optimize crop development has become a key agronomic measure for mitigating climate stress and ensuring yield. Against this backdrop, precise monitoring of leaf area index (LAI) is crucial for evaluating the effectiveness of planting date regulation and achieving precision management. To reveal the impact of planting date variations on summer maize LAI inversion and address the limitations of single data sources in comprehensively reflecting complex environmental conditions affecting crop growth, this study examined summer maize at different planting dates across the North China Plain. Through stepwise regression analysis (SRA), multiple vegetation indices (VIs) and 0–2nd order fractional order derivatives (FODs), spectral parameters were dynamically screened. These were then integrated with effective accumulated temperature (EAT) to optimize model inputs. Partial Least Squares Regression (PLSR), Random Forest (RF), Support Vector Regression (SVR), and Adaptive Boosting Regression (AdaBoot) algorithms were employed to construct LAI inversion models for summer maize across different planting dates and mixed planting dates. Results indicate that, compared to empirical VIs and “tri-band” parameters, randomly selected dual-band combination VIs exhibit the strongest correlation with summer maize LAI. Key bands identified through SRA screening concentrated in the 0.7–1.2 order range, primarily distributed across the red edge and near-infrared bands. Multi-feature models incorporating EAT significantly improved retrieval accuracy compared to single-feature models. Optimal models and feature combinations varied across planting dates. Overall, the VIs + EAT combination exhibited the highest stability across all models. Ensemble learning algorithms RF and AdaBoost performed exceptionally well, achieving average R2 values of 0.93 and 0.92, respectively. The model accuracy for the 20-day delayed planting (S4) decreased significantly, with an average R2 of 0.62, while the average R2 for other planting dates exceeded 0.90. This indicates that the altered environmental conditions during the later growth stages of LAI due to delayed planting hindered LAI estimation. This study provides an effective method for estimating summer maize LAI across different planting dates under climate change, offering scientific basis for optimizing adaptive cultivation strategies for maize in the North China Plain.

The increase in pineapple production has led to a significant accumulation of agro-industrial waste, underscoring the need for sustainable strategies for its utilization. The valorization of pineapple crowns presents an opportunity to produce value-added products rich in phenolic compounds, thereby reducing environmental impacts and offering accessible alternatives to small-scale producers. Among the methods for extracting phenolic compounds, maceration, Soxhlet extraction, and fermentation stand out, with the latter being considered a low-cost and more environmentally sustainable option. In this study, the objective was to compare three extraction methods (dynamic maceration, Soxhlet extraction, and fermentation) were compared to identify the most efficient method for recovering phenolic compounds from pineapple crowns. The results showed that fermentation yielded the highest total phenolic compounds of 82.3 mg GAE/g (Folin–Ciocalteu) and 64.1 mg GAE/g (Fast Blue BB), followed by maceration at 17.3 mg GAE/g (Folin–Ciocalteu) and 10.2 mg GAE/g (Fast Blue BB) and Soxhlet extraction at 2.1 mg GAE/g for both, with gallic, ferulic, and p-coumaric acids being particularly noteworthy in the fermented extract. The microorganism Bacillus sp. SMIA-2 played a significant role in the release and availability of these compounds, increasing the efficiency of the process. Thus, fermentation proves to be a sustainable and economically viable alternative for utilizing pineapple crowns, promoting the rational use of plant biomass and adding value to a low-cost, easily applicable agro-industrial byproduct.

The efficient pre-incubation selection of duck eggs is essential to ensuring stable hatchability, but most existing optoelectronic and machine vision systems have been calibrated for chicken eggs and cannot be directly used for duck eggs because of their larger size, stronger reflectivity and wider morphological variability. This study proposes an optoelectronic method specifically adapted to Adigel duck eggs that combines load cell weighing, infrared distance sensing and dual-projection image processing in a single stationary setup. A total of 300 eggs were measured manually and automatically, and the results were statistically compared. The developed algorithm uses adaptive Gaussian thresholding (51 × 51, C = 2) and a median 5 × 5 filter to stabilize contour extraction on glossy and spotted shells, followed by ellipsoid-based volume estimation with a breed-specific correction factor (Kv = 0.637). The automatic system showed high agreement with manual measurements (r > 0.95 for mass and linear dimensions) and a mean relative error below 2%. Density, the shape index (If) and the shape coefficient (K1) were computed to classify eggs into “suitable”, “borderline” and “unsuitable” categories. A preliminary incubation trial (n = 60) of eggs classified as “suitable” resulted in 92% hatchability, thus confirming the predictive value of the proposed criteria. Unlike chicken-oriented systems, the presented solution provides breed-specific calibration and can be implemented in small and medium hatcheries for the reproducible, non-destructive sorting of hatching duck eggs.

Given the current climate change scenario, it is essential to find strategies to reduce environmental risks and obtain economically sustainable agricultural productions. This study investigated the impact of various agronomic treatments on an almond orchard in northeastern Portugal, focusing on their relationships with crop growth/vigour and yield. The experiment was conducted using a factorial design that combined three variables: almond cultivar (Constantí and Vairo), irrigation regime (full and regulated deficit irrigation), and kaolin application (with or without application). These combinations resulted in eight distinct treatments, each replicated across two experimental plots. To monitor the crop physiological status, two drone flights equipped with a multispectral camera were flown during the kernel-filling stage (3 and 30 August 2021). Vegetation indices (VI) derived from the multispectral images were used to assess the crop vigour. In relation to the production data, including kernel and in-shell almond weights, these were collected in 14 representative trees of each treatment. Lastly, parametric and nonparametric regression analyses were performed to better understand relationships between VI and crop yields and derive predictive models. The main results can be summarised as follows: (a) cv. Vairo was more vulnerable to the regulated deficit irrigation strategy with striking repercussions on almond production, translating into an average reduction per tree of 22% and 16% in almond kernel and in-shell almonds compared to full irrigation, respectively; (b) kaolin application did not reflect statistically significant differences in the mean crop yield, as Tukey’s pairwise comparisons involving kaolin as a differentiating factor (e.g., C100+k—C100, V100+K—V100) showed confidence intervals with central value close to zero; and (c) regression analysis using the nonparametric random forest model and individualised treatments demonstrated a better agreement with the observed data (R2 > 0.7). This research provided valuable insights into how cultivar selection, irrigation strategy, and kaolin application can influence the almond crop performance. When integrating multispectral aerial monitoring and advanced statistical modelling, it enables an effective assessment of both crop vigour and expected yield, supporting the development of more informed and adaptive management practices to face emerging environmental challenges.

The separation of walnut kernels from shells is a crucial step in walnut processing. Pneumatic sorting is the mainstream method. However, due to the overlapping suspension speeds of half-shells and eighth-shells, complete separation was not achieved. This paper proposes using a toothed vibrating screen to separate the two. Using EDEM to simulate and analyze the motion forms, collision processes, and stress conditions of walnut shells and kernels on the vibrating screen, the effectiveness of this method was demonstrated, and the mechanisms of shell–kernel retention and loss during the separation process were revealed. Results indicate that 1/8 kernels, being smaller, easily fall into tooth grooves and move upward step by step under the excitation force during reciprocating vibration. The 1/2 shells, being larger, are difficult to fall into the teeth grooves, and their smooth surfaces cause them to slide easily, moving downward continuously under the action of reciprocating vibration and gravity. Using the cleaning rate and loss rate as evaluation indicators, it was found that as the inclination angle of the vibrating screen increased step by step, the cleaning rate consistently increased monotonously. The loss rate initially rose slowly, then surged sharply after reaching 22°, at which point the loss rate was at its lowest, around 10%, and the cleaning rate was at its maximum, at 95%. The shortest retention time of walnut shells on the screen is 2.85 s, and the longest is 10.6 s, with the number of collisions being 458 and 2619, respectively; the collisions between the shells and the kernels account for 51.8%. The failure to thoroughly separate is due to the shell and kernel entangling within the separation area, making it impossible to segregate them. They enter the opposite region, collide, and cause loss and retention phenomena.

Energy expenditure constitutes a significant portion of total operational costs in greenhouse crop production. Developing accurate energy consumption prediction models presents crucial theoretical foundations for optimizing the environmental control strategies aimed at energy efficiency enhancement. This study focuses on steel-frame solar greenhouses without back slopes in Xinjiang’s Tianshan North Slope region. A physical model was established using thermodynamic equilibrium analysis, elucidating the energy exchange mechanisms between internal and external environments. Key parameters, including outdoor temperature and solar radiation, were identified as primary input variables through systematic energy flow characterization. Building upon this theoretical framework, we developed an enhanced prediction model (WOA-ELM) by integrating the Whale Optimization Algorithm (WOA) with an Extreme Learning Machine (ELM). The WOA’s global optimization capabilities were employed to refine the connection weights between input-hidden layers and optimize hidden neuron thresholds. Comparative evaluations against conventional artificial neural networks (ANNs), radial basis function neural networks (RBFNN), and baseline ELM models were conducted under diverse meteorological conditions. Experimental results demonstrate the superior performance of WOA-ELM across multiple metrics. Under overcast conditions, the model achieved a root mean square error (RMSE) of 0.423, coefficient of determination (R2) of 0.93, and mean absolute error (MAE) of 0.252. In clear weather scenarios, performance further improved with RMSE = 0.27, R2 = 0.96, and MAE = 0.063. The comprehensive evaluation ranked model effectiveness as WOA-ELM > ELM > BP > RBF. These findings substantiate that the hybrid WOA-ELM architecture, combining physical mechanism interpretation with intelligent parameter optimization, delivers enhanced prediction accuracy across varying weather patterns. This research provides valuable insights for energy load management in backslope-less steel-frame greenhouses, offering theoretical guidance for thermal environment regulation and sustainable operation.

This study investigates the impact of digital transformation on a Brazilian post-harvest engineering company. The manuscript examines how digital technologies impact performance and competitive advantages, providing actionable insights for practitioners. The methodology is a twofold case study. First, it describes the company’s technology development process, examining the journey from initial implementations to its current state over the past ten years. Then, it focuses on the recommendations for future advancements, provided by a leading technology research institute located in Germany. Data collection involved observation, interviews (personnel, clients, experts), document analysis, and facility tours. The findings include qualitative (grain quality, agility) and quantitative impacts (EBITDA increase, 84% storage efficiency). Barriers included mechanical adaptation and costs. Opportunities related by BIBA include advanced technologies (such as AI and digital twins), aligning with a proposed six-level digital maturity model for post-harvest systems. Regarding practical implications, the findings emphasize the need for a strategic vision for digital technology adoption in the post-harvest industry, which is crucial for addressing labor shortages, reducing losses, and promoting sustainability, with potential annual gains of $700 million. The main novelty introduced by this study is a novel, empirically derived six-level digital maturity model. It provides comprehensive qualitative/quantitative impact analysis, highlighting advanced technologies for industry challenges.

Yield maps from combine harvesters are essential in precision agriculture for capturing within-field variability and guiding variable-rate input management. However, in large-scale systems such as those in the Brazilian Cerrado, these maps are often inconsistent due to calibration errors, use of multiple harvesters, and complex post-processing. Orbital remote sensing offers an alternative by providing consistent vegetation index (VI) data for crop monitoring and yield estimation. This study developed regression models relating Sentinel-2 VIs (EVI, TVI, NDVI, and NDRE) to cotton yield data obtained from combine harvesters across 30 commercial plots in Mato Grosso, Brazil, over six cropping seasons (2019–2024), totaling 76 plot-season datasets. Vegetation indices were grouped into 15-day intervals based on days after sowing, and a logistic growth function was applied in the regression modeling. Model performance evaluated using 15 independent plot-seasons showed good pixel-level accuracy, with RMSE of 0.695 t ha−1 and R2 of 0.78, with EVI performing slightly better. At the plot scale, mean yield predictions across all datasets achieved an RMSE of 0.41 t ha−1, reflecting the higher reliability of module-based yield measurements. These results demonstrate the potential of Sentinel-2 VIs combined with logistic regression to predict cotton yields in the Cerrado, complementing or replacing harvester-based monitoring.

Reliable differentiation of crops and weeds is essential for precision agriculture, where real-time detection can minimize chemical inputs and support site-specific interventions. This study presents the large-scale and systematic benchmark of 19 YOLO-family variants, spanning YOLOv3 through YOLOv11, for cotton–weed detection using the Cotton–8 dataset. The dataset comprises 4440 annotated field images with five categories: broadleaf weeds, grass weeds, and three growth stages of cotton. All models were trained under a standardized protocol with COCO-pretrained weights, fixed seeds, and Ultralytics implementations to ensure reproducibility and fairness. Inference was conducted with a confidence threshold of 0.25 and a non-maximum suppression (NMS) IoU threshold of 0.45, with test-time augmentation (TTA) disabled. Evaluation employed precision, recall, mAP@0.5, and mAP@0.5:0.95, along with inference latency and parameter counts to capture accuracy–efficiency trade-offs. Results show that larger models, such as YOLO11x, achieved the best detection accuracy (mAP@0.5 = 81.5%), whereas lightweight models like YOLOv8n and YOLOv9t offered the fastest inference ( 27 msper image) but with reduced accuracy. Across classes, cotton growth stages were detected reliably, but broadleaf and grass weeds remained challenging, especially under stricter localization thresholds. These findings highlight that the key bottleneck lies in small-object detection and precise localization rather than architectural design. By providing the first direct comparison across successive YOLO generations for weed detection in cotton, this work offers a practical reference for researchers and practitioners selecting models for real-world, resource-constrained cotton–weed management.

Ensuring global food security requires accurate and robust solutions for crop health monitoring, weed detection, and large-scale land-cover classification. To this end, we propose AgroVisionNet, a hybrid deep learning framework that integrates Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) for local feature extraction, Vision Transformers (ViTs) for capturing long-range global dependencies, and Graph Neural Networks (GNNs) for modeling spatial relationships between image regions. The framework was evaluated on five diverse benchmark datasets—PlantVillage (leaf-level disease detection), Agriculture-Vision (field-scale anomaly segmentation), BigEarthNet (satellite-based land-cover classification), UAV Crop and Weed (weed segmentation), and EuroSAT (multi-class land-cover recognition). Across these datasets, AgroVisionNet consistently outperformed strong baselines including ResNet-50, EfficientNet-B0, ViT, and Mask R-CNN. For example, it achieved 97.8% accuracy and 95.6% IoU on PlantVillage, 94.5% accuracy on Agriculture-Vision, 92.3% accuracy on BigEarthNet, 91.5% accuracy on UAV Crop and Weed, and 96.4% accuracy on EuroSAT. These results demonstrate the framework’s robustness across tasks ranging from fine-grained disease detection to large-scale anomaly mapping. The proposed hybrid approach addresses persistent challenges in agricultural imaging, including class imbalance, image quality variability, and the need for multi-scale feature integration. By combining complementary architectural strengths, AgroVisionNet establishes a new benchmark for deep learning applications in precision agriculture.