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The light-trap attraction rate (LTARI) constitutes a critical parameter for delineating diel activity profiles and underpins work in insect behavioral ecology and pest suppression. Nevertheless, mainstream automated light-trap apparatuses commonly employ destructive methods (e.g., electrified meshes or thermal irradiation), resulting in substantial losses of non-target organisms and markedly impairing image quality due to carcass accumulation. These shortcomings disturb indigenous assemblages and thwart attempts to measure LTARI. Our central objective is to engineer and appraise a non-lethal recording framework to serve as a technical substrate for subsequent LTARI inquiry, rather than to conduct direct quantitative benchmarking against orthodox traps. To remedy the shortcomings outlined above, we present a live-specimen recording instrument that merges a wind-aspiration collector with a Water-Flow Dispersion and Transport Structure (WF-DTS). The harmless trap–disperse–release pipeline curbs body layering, enables the return of captured creatures to the wild, and yields a community-scale post-collection survival fraction of 94% under the tested regime. Empirical data demonstrate that the prototype safeguards picture coherence featuring unambiguously separated single organisms and realizes a recognition score of 95.6% ([email protected]) employing the YOLOv8s architecture. During inference, only the built-in resizing and standardization routines of YOLOv8s are invoked, without supplementary noise filtering, background removal, or synthetic sample inflation. These findings indicate that the WF-DTS yields snapshots that are inherently more amenable to partitioning and identification than those from legacy equipment. The elevated recognition fidelity is predominantly ascribed to the mechanical splaying of individuals and the homogeneous, pale-matte arena provided by the hardware blueprint. Taken as a whole, the ensemble embodies a harmless hardware–software apparatus apt to trim downstream analytical burdens and provide methodological groundwork for enhanced LTARI calculation in prospective, purpose-built field exercises.

Swarm-based unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) systems are increasingly recognized for their capabilities in extensive IoT and precision agriculture operations, notably in collaborative surveillance and the tracking of multiple moving objects across outdoor terrains. Nevertheless, prevailing coordination mechanisms tend to assume flawless communication channels, disregarding practical network disturbances including congestion, dropped packets, and transmission delays. Such disruptions hinder the prompt relay of data among UAVs and the terrestrial control station, causing control instructions to arrive late or not at all. The outcome is a breakdown in coordination fidelity and a steep decline in tracking effectiveness when these systems are fielded. To remedy this shortcoming, we put forward CSOOC (Communication-State Driven Online–Offline Coordination with Congestion Control), a hybrid governance scheme that fuses centralized learning-powered decision processes with decentralized rule-governed behaviors, enabling UAVs to tailor their actions to instantaneous network status. The CSOOC framework is built around three core elements: (1) an online component providing centralized orchestration while communication remains dependable, (2) an offline, profit-guided movement policy relying on localized Gaussian maps to sustain autonomous target pursuit when connectivity drops, and (3) congestion mitigation rooted in STAR (Stratified Transmission and RTS/CTS), which couples staggered transmission timing with RTS/CTS handshake protocols to bolster uplink robustness. A cohesive co-simulation infrastructure is constructed, linking network-layer communication with swarm-level control and coordination dynamics. Trials reveal that CSOOC delivers a mean observation ratio of 39.7%, outperforming reference algorithms by margins of 4.4%–11.13%, while also boosting network dependability through markedly improved packet delivery success under saturated channel conditions. These outcomes confirm that CSOOC successfully spans the disconnect between algorithm performance within simulators and the operational realities of UAV collectives in communication-challenged settings.

Driven by the worldwide surge in fish maw commerce, authenticity verification has emerged as an urgent concern due to mounting adulteration incidents. Conventional approaches to verification—whether sensory-based, chemically oriented, or molecular—suffer from practical deployment constraints. The present study reframes fish maw genuineness assessment as a detection task within the object recognition paradigm and introduces RDT-YOLO, a streamlined detection model grounded in YOLO11n architecture. Addressing the twin difficulties of insufficient nuanced texture representation and processing overhead in this domain, we engineer hierarchically structured reparameterized modules for feature extraction that deploy reparameterization tactics to amplify multi-resolution texture discrimination. To counteract degradation of information arising during cross-scale feature merging, a Dynamic Adaptive Multi-Scale Pyramid Processing (DAMSPP) component is devised, integrating adaptive convolution dynamics that facilitate responsive feature synthesis. Concurrently, an Adaptive Task-Aligned Detection Head (ATADH) is formulated, fusing interactive task mechanisms with weight-shared convolutions to achieve parameter economy alongside precision gains. Moreover, Wise-ShapeIoU, a novel loss formulation, is constructed by injecting Wise-IoU's focusing coefficient into the Shape-IoU framework, thereby sharpening detection fidelity through refined contour alignment. Benchmark experiments confirm that RDT-YOLO delivers precision of 91.9%, recall of 89.6%, and [email protected] of 94% while slashing parameter count, storage footprint, and FLOPs by 75.6%, 73.8%, and 63.8%, respectively, against YOLO11s. Comparative trials versus YOLOv10s and YOLOv12s reveal [email protected] elevations of 0.8 and 0.5 percentage points. This investigation furnishes an automated pipeline for verifying fish maw genuineness, bearing implications extending across food integrity applications.

Crop diseases constitute a danger to worldwide food stability, diminishing harvest yield, grade, and total farming efficiency. Conventionally, the identification of plant ailments has depended on lengthy visual assessments by specialists, a method that frequently results in mistakes. Machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI), in particular Vision Transformers (ViTs) and Convolutional Neural Networks, deliver a swifter, automated substitute for recognizing plant illnesses through leaf image analysis. However, these frameworks are regularly faulted for their "black box" character, which curbs confidence in their outputs due to a lack of clarity. Our outcomes indicate that integrating Explainable AI (XAI) approaches like Grad-CAM, Integrated Gradients, and LIME notably boosts model explainability, rendering it simpler for users to detect the fundamental indicators of plant sicknesses. This investigation not only adds to the area of plant disease recognition but also supplies an original viewpoint on advancing AI openness in actual farming settings through the application of XAI methods. With training accuracy rates of 100.00% for ViT, 96.88% for EfficientNetB7, 93.75% for EfficientNetB0, and 87.50% for ResNet50, and equivalent validation accuracy rates of 96.39% for ViT, 86.98% for EfficientNetB7, and 82.00% for EfficientNetB0, our suggested architectures exceed earlier studies performed on the identical dataset. This illustrates a considerable leap in model capability while upholding clarity and dependability by way of explainable and trustworthy decision procedures.

Food waste is a critical concern for both developing and advanced economies alike. Digital technologies hold promise for helping to alleviate this problem, and our investigation sets out to deliver a workable prototype employing cloud-based image classification alongside tailored OCR techniques. The product of our work is an economical yet high-performing mobile app prototype that establishes a foundation for future inquiry. We drew on sophisticated principles of application integration—encompassing mobile frameworks, Firebase machine learning modules, and OCR procedures—to signal how near food items are to spoiling. Where no printed date exists, the system generates an indicative shelf-life projection built on prudent category-based assumptions. These projections do not constitute safety determinations and are not a substitute for manufacturer date markings or national food-safety regulations. The outcomes lend our paper unmistakable originality and scholarly value, boosting the operational efficiency of storage facilities and retail food outlets. The ramifications of our work are technical, economic, and societal in nature.

The increasing menace of climate change constitutes a profound obstacle for contemporary farming, carrying grave implications for worldwide food availability. The effect of altering climatic parameters on agricultural output, particularly for essential staple commodities, fuels worry regarding prospective harvests. This investigation explores the likely repercussions of climate change on cotton cultivation by merging archival climate records, Global Climate Model (GCMs, CMIP3) forecasts, and cotton production statistics. A broad spectrum of machine learning (ML) methodologies is applied, including multiple regression, k-nearest neighbors (KNN), boosted tree techniques, and several variants of artificial neural networks (ANNs), to delve into the intricate linkage between climatic drivers and cotton productivity. The models are built and verified using climatic and crop output data obtained from three districts within Punjab, Pakistan, across the timeframe 1991 to 2020. To anticipate future production outcomes, climatic projections from General Circulation Models (GCMs) are refined via downscaling under the SRA1B, A2, and B1 emission trajectories, facilitating outlooks extending to 2050. The outcomes reveal that precipitation exerts a trivial influence on cotton output (R = 0.0002), while peak temperature (R = -0.183) stands out as the foremost climatic determinant shaping yield, trailed by lowest temperature (R = 0.248). Of the tested architectures, the generalized feedforward (GFF) network delivered the optimal results (R = 0.960, MSE = 0.110, NMSE = 0.187, MAE = 0.269), exceeding the performance of the probabilistic neural network (PNN), KNN, multilayer perceptron (MLP), and boosted trees. By comparison, linear regression (LR) and multiple regression formulations registered weaker predictive power. The trustworthiness of GFF and KNN for generating yield projections (R² = 0.892, 0.861) endorses their suitability for reliable forecasting. The study calculates a 4.5% contraction in cotton harvest by 2050, measured against the peak recorded yield for the locality, stressing the footprint of climate change on cotton farming and its latent hazard to food supply. Nonetheless, the flexible strength of the ANN (GFF) frameworks under varying climate storylines delivers auspicious means for weaving ML into climate-adaptive cultivation regimes, advancing durable agrarian safety and curbing the detrimental fallout of climate shifts on nutrition provision.

Reliable estimation of crop yield is vital for refining farming operations and guaranteeing food supply. This investigation tested the capacity of machine learning techniques to estimate tomato yield using meteorological measurements, spectral reflectance bands, and vegetation indices subjected to different nitrogen levels and bio-stimulant applications to generate variation in crop development. UAV-mounted sensors captured spectral information across seven acquisition dates spanning October 27 to December 15, 2023, matching critical developmental windows: vegetative establishment (acquisition 1), anthesis (acquisitions 2 and 3), fruit set and enlargement (acquisitions 4, 5, and 6), and initial maturation (acquisition 7). Discriminating explanatory variables were selected via the Pearson correlation metric (r > 0.65, P < 0.05), incorporating Near Infrared (NIR), Red Edge, and Red wavebands, together with vegetation indices comprising NDVI, GNDVI, NDRE, and SAVI. Remotely sensed canopy signatures gathered throughout the fruit set and enlargement window (acquisitions 5 and 6) displayed the tightest association with harvested yield (r = 0.66–0.74), reinforcing the necessity of spectral intelligence from the middle to latter parts of the cycle. When comparing predictive algorithms, both linear regression (LR) and XGBoost yielded the strongest predictive skill, producing root mean squared error (RMSE) figures of 16.13 kg and 16.15 kg, respectively, matched with R² values reaching 0.63. Support vector machine (SVM) and decision tree (DT) implementations also delivered competent outcomes, achieving RMSE scores of 17.15 kg and 17.18 kg, respectively. By comparison, the deep learning architecture lagged notably (RMSE = 23.49 kg, R² = 0.23), plausibly attributable to data scarcity. This research spotlights the prognostic capability inherent in spectral wavebands and underscores the centrality of growth-stage-aligned spectral acquisition for yield forecasting.

Real-time tracking of soybean seedling development demands an efficient approach for correctly recognizing seedlings and eliminating weeds. Difficulties stem from the tiny scale and shape-based likeness between seedlings and weeds, which makes standard detection techniques more complex. In response to these issues, a real-time detection framework termed YOLOv9-GSSA is introduced. A refined Mosaic-Dense algorithm boosts object concentration at the input stage of the model, improving its power to capture subtle features. Additionally, a neck optimization component called GSSA, integrating GSConv with Gated Self-Attention, aids essential information extraction and the exchange of features across scales. The Swin-GSSA prediction head further draws on spatial positioning cues, enabling better small object recognition and resolution of overlapping occlusion. Tests reveal that our model secures a mAP of 47.5% with a per-image detection speed of 23.42 ms, making it viable for real-time surveillance. The upgraded model notably strengthens the recognition of soybean seedlings and weeds, functioning as a useful asset for efficient farmland oversight. This ultimately contributes to precise yield forecasting and informed choices in precision agriculture.

A novel hybrid AI-driven optimization architecture is proposed to advance climbing perch cultivation in intelligent aquaculture environments, aiming for simultaneous gains in yield and cost performance. By merging Taguchi experimental design with reinforcement learning and metaheuristic strategies, the system pinpoints the key environmental and operational drivers of fish growth and economic return. A multi-objective regression technique is deployed to fine-tune crucial variables, namely water temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, feeding regimes, and stocking density. The RL-AMIS approach, leveraging Pareto front evaluation and TOPSIS, effectively reconciles the tension between expenditure and output. Empirical outcomes document a 15.3% drop in operating expenses and a 17.8% boost in growth efficiency relative to traditional practice. These insights confirm that AI-based optimization can strengthen scalability and flexibility within aquaculture operations, thereby advancing sustainable production agendas.

Leaf blight, caused by bacterial and fungal infections, threatens plant health by inducing leaf discoloration and reducing crop yield. To address this, we propose a MobileNetV3-based classifier for the Jasmine plant, leveraging streamlined Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) to precisely identify disease stages. The design combines depthwise convolutional layers with max-pooling layers to extract superior features, focusing on vital low-level features that signal the condition. Via preprocessing methods that include data augmentation with a Conditional GAN and Particle Swarm Optimization for feature selection, the classifier achieves reliable performance. Assessment on carefully assembled datasets shows a remarkable 97% training accuracy, demonstrating its potency. Real-world trials across varying settings, including severe camera tilts and fluctuating illumination, verify the model’s durability, delivering test accuracies within the 94% to 96% range. The dataset’s bespoke structure for CNN-based classification ensures the reliability of the outcomes. Notably, the model’s compact classification, characterized by swift processing speed and minimal size, makes it a practical choice for immediate deployment. This all-encompassing strategy highlights the presented classifier’s value in managing leaf blight spot disease difficulties in cash crops.

Obtaining body mass in large-scale rearing and production environments is difficult, making non-contact assessment methods indispensable. This paper introduces an original pipeline for predicting pig body mass based on an adapted mask region convolutional neural network (mask R-CNN). The adaptation deploys ResNeSt as the backbone feature-extraction architecture, aiming to bolster the capacity to derive features from imagery. A feature pyramid network (FPN) was appended to this backbone to enable feature merging across multiple scales. Within the region proposal network (RPN), a channel attention mechanism (CAM) was installed alongside a spatial attention mechanism (SAM), enabling the dynamic combination of localized characteristics with their long-range interdependencies. This configuration captures holistic contextual knowledge, ultimately improving segmentation fidelity. The adapted architecture achieved precision (P) of 90.33%, recall (R) of 89.85%, and mean average precision (MAP) of 95.21%, thereby isolating pig areas in images with notable effectiveness. Five descriptive features drawn from the imagery were examined: back area, body length, body width, average depth, and eccentricity. Leveraging the pig depth images, five regression learning algorithms—ordinary least squares (OLS), AdaBoost, CatBoost, XGBoost, and random forest (RF)—were trained to forecast mass values. AdaBoost delivered the strongest predictive performance, evidenced by a coefficient of determination (R2) of 0.987, a mean absolute error (MAE) of 2.96 kg, a mean square error (MSE) of 12.87 kg², and a mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) of 8.45%. The experimental results confirm that machine learning models can reliably predict pig mass, providing a technical foundation for the informed management of pig production facilities.

The delineation of hazelnut plantations has the potential to assist land management and utilization strategies, thereby enabling the advancement of collaborative precision agriculture infrastructures. This investigation addresses the recognition of hazelnut cultivation by leveraging both optical and radar remote sensing. A comparative appraisal of various Machine Learning methodologies is conducted. The framework put forward harnesses multi-temporal information from the Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 archives, acquired over several years and processed in cloud computing environments. A data collection encompassing 62,982 annotated instances is furnished, with 16,561 cases assigned to the ‘hazelnut’ category and 46,421 to the ‘other’ category, gathered from 8 disparate geographic sectors within the province of Viterbo. Two distinct comparative assessments are performed: initially, a Nested 5-Fold Cross-Validation routine is used to fit, tune, and compare multiple Machine Learning classifiers confined to a single sector. In a follow-on trial, the classifiers were fitted on one sector and then validated against the remaining seven geographic sectors. The investigation confirms that AI-driven interpretation of Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 imagery is a viable solution for hazelnut cartography. The outcomes indicate that Random Forest delivers the most robust generalizability, achieving peak results in the second trial, with 96% accuracy and an F1 score of 91% for the ‘hazelnut’ group.

This research presents a comprehensive assessment of the latest YOLOv8 architecture’s suitability for object detection applications, specifically adapted for smoke and wildfire recognition, with particular attention to agricultural and environmental safeguarding. Every available YOLOv8 variant underwent initial fine-tuning on a field-specific dataset that covers diverse conditions essential for robust agricultural oversight. Performance indicators led to selecting the ‘large’ model (YOLOv8l) for deeper hyperparameter tuning. This model was subjected to meticulous hyperparameter refinement via the One Factor At a Time (OFAT) strategy, zeroing in on pivotal variables such as learning rate, batch size, weight decay, epochs, and optimizer. Knowledge gained from the OFAT phase was used to define search boundaries for the subsequent Random Search (RS). The ultimate model produced through RS displayed considerable advancement over the baseline fine-tuned version, boosting overall precision by 1.39%, recall by 1.48%, F1-score by 1.44%, [email protected] by 0.70%, and [email protected]:0.95 by 5.09%. The improved model’s performance was confirmed across a wide range of real-world photographs depicting different agricultural landscapes, affirming its robustness in smoke and fire recognition. These outcomes underscore the model’s trustworthiness and practical value in contexts vital to agricultural protection and environmental surveillance. This investigation, marking a notable leap forward in machine learning-based fire and smoke identification, lays a firm foundation for subsequent inquiries and innovations aimed at protecting agricultural areas and natural ecosystems.

The Nong Han Chaloem Phrakiat Lotus Park functions as a visitor destination and an educational hub centered on lotus plants. Nevertheless, its role as a training ground suffers from a lack of engagement and learning drive, a consequence of the outdated way lotus plant data is displayed. This investigation deployed the smart learning paradigm in the locale to amplify curiosity and motivation for education. To build a mobile application capable of displaying details for each type, convolutional neural networks (CNNs) were used to categorize lotus plant species. The boundaries of the work were defined by sorting 11 lotus plant species using a bespoke CNN model that relied on distinct methods (augmentation, dropout, and L2) and hyperparameters (dropout and the number of epochs). The goal was to secure a high-efficacy CNN model with a lower total parameter count than using three separate pre-trained CNN models (Inception V3, VGG16, and VGG19) as reference points. Model effectiveness was measured using accuracy, F1-score, precision, and recall. The outcomes showed that the CNN model integrating augmentation, dropout, and L2 regularization at a dropout rate of 0.4 and an epoch count of 30 achieved the highest test accuracy of 0.9954. The proposed superior model proved more precise than the pre-trained CNN benchmarks, with a pronounced improvement over Inception V3. In addition, the overall parameter count was cut down by a factor of about 1.80–2.19. These revelations showed that the proposed model, with its modest parameter count, achieved an acceptable level of classification precision.

Litchi, a delicate and juicy fruit with a short shelf life, has a harvest period of fewer than 14 days each year. The emergence of intelligent agriculture has spurred the integration of vision-based, automated systems for litchi collection. Nevertheless, standard techniques frequently rely on laboratory-based, high-capacity computing machinery, which raises concerns about bulk, power consumption, and real-world operability in litchi groves. To surmount these hurdles, we put forward a real-time litchi identification strategy tailored for complex settings, leveraging handheld, energy-efficient edge computing devices. To begin with, imagery from litchi orchards was compiled to strengthen data generalizability. After that, a single-stage detector, YOLOx, anchored in a convolutional neural network (CNN), was developed to pinpoint litchi fruits in captured images accurately. To ease installation on handheld, energy-miserly edge devices, channel pruning, coupled with layer pruning, was used to shrink the final model, reducing both its bulk and parameter count. In addition, knowledge distillation was applied to further polish the network. Test outcomes revealed the suggested technique achieved 97.1% compression, resulting in a tight litchi detection model occupying just 6.9 MB, while maintaining a 99 frames per second (FPS) frame rate. The technique proved 1.8 times swifter than the untreated model. Hence, our method slots effortlessly into compact, low-computation automatic harvesting apparatus, ensuring instantaneous and precise litchi spotting right inside orchard landscapes.

Remarkable progress has been made in applying deep learning models to distinguish between weed and crop species within agricultural settings. Still, a significant gap persists in the body of work on how models are trained and evaluated when environmental conditions diverge. The dominant tendency involves either dividing a single dataset distribution into training, validation, and test splits or first pooling datasets originating from varied conditions or distributions and then partitioning them. What our study brings forward is an effort to close this gap: we incorporate multiple broadleaf weed categories spanning dissimilar distributions, probe what happens when convolutional neural networks are trained exclusively on condition- or distribution-specific data, and then gauge their behaviour in entirely foreign environments across three experimental setups. By surveying an array of network designs alongside distinct learning modes (fine-tuning versus feature extraction), testing multiple architectures, adopting varied training protocols, and consolidating data, we arrived at straightforward guiding principles that ensure models retain precision and accuracy even under starkly contrasting deployment conditions. Experiment 1, confined to a single uniform environment, produced accuracies of 80%–100% across models and strategies; fine-tuning yielded higher accuracies (94%–99.9%) than feature extraction (80%–92.96%). Experiment 2 showed a steep drop-off in performance: whenever the test partition came from sources other than the training and validation sets, accuracy ranged from 25% to 60%, most often around 40%. Experiment 3, centred on merging datasets and distributions, delivered encouraging numbers — ResNet in fine-tuning mode attained a high of 99.6%, whereas InceptionV3 in feature extraction mode dropped to a low of 69.9%. These core insights underscore that fusing data from mismatched distributions, paired with fine-tuning on modern backbones like ResNet and MobileNet, markedly improves capability, unlike the comparatively modest outputs of leaner architectures such as AlexNet. Our results suggest that accepting data heterogeneity and flexible training regimens are fundamental to sharpening weed classification pipelines. The study provides a workable approach for handling diverse datasets that reflect genuine agricultural variability.

The tractor functions as a fundamental power source for farming activities. Still, the available power is frequently not fully exploited because of poor matching between the tractor and the attached implement under actual field conditions. To improve overall system productivity, it is essential to gather information on performance-related variables characterising the tractor-implement unit. In this work, we build a real-time Instrumented Tractor Performance Monitoring System (ITPMS) that leverages the Internet of Things (IoT). The hardware foundation comprises a Raspberry Pi, a GPS sensor, a proximity sensor, a rotary potentiometer, and a three-point hitch dynamometer. The rotary potentiometer records tillage depth, whereas the three-point hitch dynamometer captures draft force values. Proximity sensors are mounted on a two-wheel-drive (2WD) tractor to measure forward speed and drive-wheel slip. A dedicated web server is set up within a Google® Firebase® project, allowing storage of data streams from all sensors via the Raspberry Pi. Alongside this, a web interface and a mobile application are constructed to present the sensor-generated data in real time. Field experiments were conducted to assess and observe the performance variables of the tractor-implement unit employing the built ITPMS. The findings reveal that the system can reliably monitor the performance variables required for the tractor-implement unit. Furthermore, the system’s ability to transmit updated information to the IoT server without delay is verified. Altogether, designing and deploying this Raspberry Pi–centred IoT framework provides a trustworthy and effective approach for real-time performance monitoring of instrumented tractors.

Quantifying fruit mass and volume manually is a laborious, repetitive task that can hinder production scheduling. This investigation developed a computer vision framework to predict the volume and mass of baobab fruits from single-view photographs captured with affordable, widely accessible cameras, including smartphones. The baobab fruits were sourced from two experimental sites situated within the savanna ecological zone. Following image capture, the fruits were detected and segmented with an accuracy exceeding 97%. The segmented outputs were converted to binary format, from which two-dimensional (2D) attributes—namely the segmented area, centroid, bounding box, equivalent diameter, and major diameter—were derived. Volume estimations were generated from the 2D attributes by employing random forest, linear, polynomial, and radial support vector machine regressors. Every model achieved strong goodness-of-fit, yet the random forest regressor performed best, with an R2 of 99.8%. The linkage between mass and volume conformed to a quadratic expression (mass = 38.23 + 0.25 × volume + 4.49e−05 × volume2) and achieved an R2 of 92%. Correlations were substantiated through graphical plots and statistical evaluations, with credible intervals for the point estimates derived from the posterior distributions of their respective samples. This finding spotlights the potential to deploy artificial intelligence techniques in a less restrictive environment to support ecological studies and agricultural oversight. Commercial firms that manufacture baobab powder and seed oil ought to adopt these models to streamline production planning. Acquiring deeper insight into how climatic gradients shape the morphological properties of baobab fruits would help refine the model.

Presently, the agricultural domain faces major hurdles in efficiently monitoring livestock health. Established observation practices tend to be labor-heavy, slow, and ill-suited to the evolving requirements of contemporary farming. The rapid proliferation of IoT devices in this field has brought scalability issues and increased processing demands to the forefront, creating an urgent need for streamlined, scalable architectures. This work proposes a cloud-centric framework to elevate the standard of livestock wellness tracking. Engineered to monitor key physiological metrics such as motility, thermal state, and cardiac rhythm, the setup leverages AWS for resilient data orchestration, alongside Python for analytical computation and live-stream analytics. The framework embraces Narrow Band IoT (NB-IoT) mechanisms, fine-tuned for minimal bandwidth usage and extended transmission range, which are ideal for isolated agricultural terrains. Its scalable design enables seamless administration of a dynamic number of IoT devices, a vital feature for accommodating changes in livestock density and operational scale. Early-stage testing conducted to gauge system capability has confirmed its resilience and practical value, reflecting a cohesive integration of AWS IoT Cloud capabilities with field-level IoT devices. Beyond this, the inquiry examines the deployment of predictive algorithmic models to support anticipatory healthcare strategies in animal populations. By forecasting impending health anomalies before visible symptoms, the mechanism stands to advance animal well-being and farm output substantially. The confluence of cloud computing power and IoT infrastructure not only meets the intensifying digital demands of modern agriculture but also pioneers a new paradigm for sustainable ecological farming methods. The revelations from this investigation may carry far-reaching weight for the trajectory of animal stock oversight, potentially catalyzing broad-based acceptance of digitally driven wellness surveillance frameworks across the farming sector. Such a shift would aid in streamlining husbandry-based health management worldwide, thereby enhancing yields and long-term viability in the agrarian economy.

As global food requirements intensify and farming moves decisively toward sustainable and efficient models, establishing precise, forward-looking strategies to protect livestock health is increasingly critical. Within the egg and hatchery domain, hyperspectral imaging (HSI) has established itself as a sophisticated, non-invasive modality for swift, reliable egg quality evaluation, including the detection of embryonic death in chicks. Yet, steep costs and operational barriers relative to conventional RGB approaches present considerable barriers to HSI’s wide-scale uptake. Circumventing these constraints and enabling the broader promise of HSI, the reconstruction of hyperspectral data from ordinary RGB captures is a compelling answer. The current work focuses on producing hyperspectral imagery from RGB inputs to achieve non-destructive, early-stage identification of chick embryo mortality. An initial comparison was made among several image reconstruction frameworks—HRNET, MST++, Restormer, and EDSR—for generating hyperspectral representations of eggs at an early incubation phase. Following this, the reconstructed spectral information was used as input for XGBoost and Random Forest models to separate eggs with living embryos from those with deceased embryos. HRNET outperformed the alternatives in reconstruction quality, recording an MRAE of 0.0955, an RMSE of 0.0159, and a PSNR of 36.79 dB. This work promotes the concept that integrating imaging platforms with intelligent sensing and analytical processing can raise automation levels, strengthen biosecurity measures, and streamline resource use in pursuit of sustainable agriculture 4.0.

Rice blast (RB) and brown spot (BS) represent two economically impactful diseases in rice cultivation, responsible for substantial annual yield reductions. Both pathogens infect the same host plant and produce lesions of remarkably similar appearance, leading to frequent misidentification by growers. Correct identification is vital to ensure effective disease control. Visual diagnosis requires trained personnel, while laboratory-based molecular assays, although precise, are costly and time-consuming. The present study examined whether lesions from these two diseases could be distinguished using proximally sensed digital RGB images and calculated colour indices. A smartphone camera was used to capture digital photographs of the lesions. A set of thirty-six colour indices was assessed via k-means clustering for disease separation, utilising three colour channel systems: RGB, HSV, and Lab. In summary, image backgrounds were masked so that only the leaf spot lesion remained, and colour indices were then computed as features from the lesion’s central portion, reflecting the diagnostic practice commonly employed by plant pathologists. The outcomes indicated that the complete set of 36 indices separated the two diseases with an accuracy of 84.3%. It was also noted, however, that accuracy was largely driven by indices related to the R, G, and B profiles, with the remaining indices contributing little. The indices G/R, NGRDI, (R + G + B)/R, VARI, (G + B)/R, R/G, Nor_r, G-R, Mean_A, and Logsig were singled out as providing the greatest contribution to disease discrimination. Accordingly, these specific RGB-derived colour indices can be applied alongside the k-means algorithm to separate blast and brown spot diseases. The study’s outcomes deliver a non-destructive, alternative objective means of recognising RB and BS disease symptoms. On the strength of these results, a mobile application named Blast O spot was created to perform field-level disease differentiation.

The surveillance of poultry movement patterns is an essential diagnostic tool for welfare evaluation, yet manual monitoring routines impose considerable temporal demands and physical strain, particularly in high-density flocks. Inadequately trained personnel may additionally fail to recognize subtle shifts in behavioral intensity, thereby overlooking critical windows for prophylactic intervention and remedial action. The present work merges conventional camera-based observation with a sophisticated automated recognition architecture to classify diverse broiler conduct within commercial housing. Deployment of a two-stage deep learning pipeline occurs as follows: initial detection localizes individual birds, followed by identification of five principal anatomical landmarks (cranial region, ventral region, bilateral limbs, and caudal appendage). From these points, a skeletal framework anchored in the ventral region is generated, yielding six angular measurements via trigonometric computations. A long short-term memory network subsequently processes these angular sequences, estimating the likelihood across behavioral categories encompassing “Standing”, “Walking”, “Resting”, “Eating”, “Preening”, and “Flapping”, with the highest-probability classification retained. To quantify the temporal distribution between stationary and dynamic states, a cascaded fuzzy-logic inference architecture was implemented, providing a resilient assessment of overall activity magnitude. Validation conducted within a mixed-gender rearing facility demonstrated that the proposed methodology attained performance floors of 85.2% for broiler categorization, 79.2% for anatomical landmark localization, and 50.8% for behavioral classification accuracy. Activity-level determinations generated by the system were consistent with evaluations by veteran poultry husbandry specialists.

Acquiring data across many locations and enabling fast decision-making are strengths of hyperspectral measurements. Nevertheless, a range of data processing approaches (Savisky-Golay [SG], first derivative [FD], and normalization) and modeling frameworks (partial least squares regression [PLS], weighted k-nearest neighbor [KKNN], support vector machine [SVM], and random forest [RF]) can be applied to establish the strongest link between physical observations and hyperspectral signatures. In this study, FD emerged as the top processing technique, while SVM was the leading model for estimating mean cotton (Gossypium spp., Malvaceae) height and node counts. Conversely, the integration of FD with RF achieved the highest accuracy in predicting cotton leaf area index, canopy cover, and chlorophyll levels throughout the growing period. Furthermore, outputs from models built with both SVM and RF corresponded closely to the pseudo-CHIME satellite wavebands, a process in which field-collected hyperspectral data were adjusted to the spectral intervals of an anticipated spaceborne hyperspectral sensor. The knowledge and outcomes supplied here will equip growers and other players in the cotton sector to execute swift, well-informed actions that could foster higher productivity and sustainable intensification.

A large segment of India’s rural population depends on agriculture for its livelihood, yet difficulties with manual processes and disease management persist. To address these problems, this study presents an automated framework for detecting leaf damage and identifying plant diseases using advanced deep learning methods. The introduced technique unfolds in six steps: first, YOLOv8 is harnessed to pinpoint regions of interest from drone-acquired images; second, DeepLabV3+ is applied for background stripping to aid disease categorization; third, a CNN model is deployed for reliable disease sorting, registering strong training and validation accuracy figures (96.97% and 92.89%, respectively); fourth, UNet-based semantic segmentation is utilized for meticulous pixel-scale damage identification, with an assessment accuracy of 99%; fifth, disease severity is gauged; and sixth, customized remedial measures are put forward according to the disease category and the extent of damage. Experimental trials using the Plant Village dataset confirm the technique’s ability to detect various defects across crops, including apple, tomato, and corn. This mechanized strategy carries significant potential to boost agricultural output and strengthen disease management both within India and globally.

Achieving food availability, advancing the long-term viability of farming, and propelling economic progress. However, current forecasting frameworks often overlook the specific characteristics of rice yield distributions, which vary across regions, exhibit skewness, and are constrained by fixed lower and upper thresholds, conforming to a four-parameter beta distribution. The consequence is outputs that are less reliable and can potentially misguide decision-making. Furthermore, a majority of techniques fall short in modeling the intricate variable interactions that arise when satellite observations are fused with field survey measurements, an integration widely viewed as essential for boosting forecast fidelity and streamlining cultivation methods. To remedy these deficiencies, the present research proposes a four-parameter beta Generalized Linear Mixed Model (GLMM) and advances it into a four-parameter beta Generalized Mixed Effect Tree (GMET). This four-parameter beta GMET extends the four-parameter beta GLMM architecture by embedding a regression tree mechanism, thereby providing superior flexibility for representing non-linear and interaction-laden dependencies. Deploying this analytical framework on empirical data from Central Kalimantan and Karawang yields significant gains over earlier approaches, as evidenced by markedly lower AIC and RRMSE metrics. Significantly, the investigation finds that time-lagged reflectance values from bands 4 and 8 and the NDVI index captured by Sentinel-2A satellites are the dominant determinants of rice productivity, overshadowing the explanatory contribution of farmer questionnaire responses. This finding underscores the promise of remotely sensed data as a cornerstone for rice yield estimation, offering a more streamlined, less resource-intensive alternative to reliance on farmer-reported data. By further refining satellite-based technologies, upcoming initiatives in yield forecasting can realize superior efficiency and precision, thereby underpinning evidence-based choices in agricultural governance.

Achieving optimal cannabis crop performance and product quality hinges on dependable, automated systems for leaf disease identification that allow for swift diagnosis and action. Present-day automated methods fall short of being purpose-built for the distinct difficulties inherent in spotting cannabis diseases, rarely holding up across shifting environmental contexts and varying phases of plant maturity. This paper proposes a novel Hybrid Adaptive Multi-Intelligence System for Deep Learning Ensembles (HyAMIS-DLE), grounded in an extensive data collection that mirrors the breadth of cannabis leaf pathologies and their unfolding. The design pairs non-population-based decision merging within the image preparation pipeline with population-based decision merging at the classification stage, calling upon a variety of CNN backbones. The outcome is a meaningful leap in key performance measures: HyAMIS-DLE achieves 99.58% accuracy, besting standard architectures by up to 4.16%, while also offering markedly improved resilience and a boosted Area Under the Curve (AUC) metric, enabling a clear distinction between unaffected and afflicted foliage. Rolling HyAMIS-DLE into our Automated Cannabis Leaf Disease Classification System (A-CLDC-S) confirms its on-the-ground value, helping achieve higher harvest volumes, reduce waste, and advance ecologically sound farming practices.

The surveillance of animal behavior is a vital tool in animal production systems. This approach to monitoring behavior can serve as an indicator of animal welfare and health status, potentially translating into superior productive outcomes. The present investigation was designed to determine the optimal accelerometer placement (on the halter compared to a neck collar) and data transmission sampling periods (from 6 up to 600 seconds) for the forecasting of behavioral repertoires, which included frequencies of water and feed consumption along with additional activities, in young beef cattle bulls under feedlot conditions. To meet the study’s goals, a suite of machine learning classifiers was implemented, including random forests, support vector machines, multilayer perceptrons, and naive Bayes. Every model examined achieved high classification performance (above 0.90) regardless of placement site, except those trained with the naive Bayes classifier. Accordingly, integrating accelerometers into collars represents a more feasible solution for on-animal use, given the relative ease of application compared with halter mounting. The adoption of a larger dataset (i.e., shorter sampling windows) did not substantially improve the performance of the fitted models. Consequently, operating with datasets of reduced observational density is more beneficial, as it can reduce both the computational load and time investment required for model fitting while simultaneously extending the device’s battery longevity.

Around the world, livestock producers are under pressure to curb greenhouse gas emissions to limit climate change. One potential avenue for grazing-based dairy enterprises involves adding substances that suppress methane production into the animals’ feed. A novel method for supplying these substances at the required regularity and accuracy is through smart feeders, a current smart farming tool already used to automatically dispense supplements to livestock while they are in the paddock. For this innovation to take hold, however, it must work within existing farm systems and deliver a clear, beneficial value proposition to farmers. This study set out to investigate the farm system and technology attributes that could shape the potential acceptance of in-paddock smart technologies for administering methane inhibitors in pasture-based settings. An adoption prediction instrument (ADOPT) was applied to simulate the diffusion patterns of smart feeders functioning as methane-inhibition delivery mechanisms on dairy operations, with contributions from industry specialists and farmers gathered through focus group discussions. The outcomes revealed that smart-feeder uptake within a pasture-based system framework would be modest. A deeper examination was conducted through a sensitivity analysis of seven decisive ADOPT variables identified as highly influential during the farmer focus group sessions. We modelled the effects of these seven essential ADOPT variables across two distinct smart-feeder designs to compare their adoption prospects. The adoption modelling indicated that, while considerations such as technological cost and capability were significant, uptake would also be profoundly affected by future regulatory directions, uncertainty surrounding the innovation, and how well it fits with farmers’ values and philosophies about their farm system. This investigation emphasized that the in-paddock delivery apparatus and the practical routines for its use on-farm constitute an early-phase innovation; consequently, farmers and other interested parties must be brought into the further refinement process to ensure that adoption barriers are properly addressed.

Fungi represent a highly nutritious dietary staple that can be essential for supplying cost-effective protein, vitamins, and minerals to populations around the globe; however, their successful cultivation requires extensive training and specialized knowledge to carefully calibrate a range of environmental variables. Internally displaced populations located in Northern Syria depend on extremely limited traditional oyster mushroom farming, which falls short of meeting local consumption requirements. Numerous international and local non-governmental organizations (NGOs) supporting Syrian refugees run mushroom-farming programs. They have encountered considerable difficulties and obstacles in mushroom farming among the intended participants. Thus, the two core questions steering this investigation are: (1) How might organic mushroom farming be advanced via a reliable and low-cost intelligent cultivation system? (2) In what ways can organic mushroom farming methods be streamlined to assist internally displaced persons and Syrian refugees? This investigation examines the mechanization of mushroom farming by designing and implementing an intelligent oyster (Pleurotus ostreatus) cultivation system for remote surveillance and adjustment of environmental conditions—temperature, humidity, air quality, and light—within the growing space. Additionally, ready-made and purpose-built, intuitive web interfaces were created to enable growers to survey and operate their farms via the Internet remotely. Consequently, a trustworthy and economically viable intelligent oyster mushroom cultivation system was designed and successfully implemented in this study. The system encompasses remote surveillance and operation via intuitive interfaces. This makes mushroom farming more straightforward not only for displaced populations and refugees but also for mushroom growers in nations with limited financial resources. This research can aid in the elimination of poverty and hunger, in accordance with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals one and two.

Artificial intelligence is increasingly positioned as a transformative force for climate-smart agriculture, promising simultaneous gains in productivity, efficiency, and sustainability. Across agricultural policy, innovation systems, and digital farming markets, AI is presented as a solution to climate uncertainty, resource scarcity, labour pressures, and food-security demands. This review examines that promise through a critical lens. The dominant narrative surrounding AI-enabled climate-smart agriculture often treats optimization as a neutral technical process. Yet algorithmic systems do not merely improve farming decisions; they also define what counts as efficiency, which outcomes are prioritised, and whose knowledge becomes authoritative. This raises important questions about power, agency, and sustainability. The objective of this critical review is to interrogate the politics of AI in climate-smart agriculture. It synthesises evidence on the tensions between productivity, efficiency, sustainability, farmer agency, data sovereignty, and governance. The review asks how algorithmic optimization reshapes agricultural futures and who benefits from this transformation. The review draws on  peer-reviewed articles published across agricultural innovation, sustainability science, digital agriculture, artificial intelligence, and critical data studies. Rather than reporting new empirical data, it develops a critical synthesis of existing debates and identifies conceptual gaps in current scholarship. The review finds that algorithmic farming is not simply a technical evolution of precision agriculture. It is a contested political terrain in which sustainability goals, commercial interests, data infrastructures, and farmer autonomy are negotiated. A critical research agenda is needed to ensure that AI contributes to equitable, democratic, and ecologically resilient agricultural futures.