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This Special Issue in Agriculture aims to collect state-of-the-art manuscripts related to local-scale applications of UAV-based remote sensing in precision agriculture and horticulture, with a prospective focus on sustainability. Nowadays, with an increasing world population, the production of bio-resources becomes a strategic sector for supporting any sustainable society. Over the past few years, UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles), RPAs (Remotely Piloted Aircrafts), and drones have emerged in the market, closing the gap between data collected using satellite remote sensing or manned aircraft and ground-based methods. [Extracted from the article]

To impart sustainability to modern intensive farming systems, environmental pollution caused by nitrogenous fertilizers in needs to be reduced by optimizing their doses. To estimate the grain yield and nutrtional quallity of wheat, the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and chlorophyll content (SPAD) are potential screening tools to identify the N deficiency and screen out the promising cultivars. The two-year field study was comprised with five levels of nitrogen (N) (control, 50, 100, 150 and 200 kg N ha−1) and two durum wheat genotypes (Sena and Svevo). The experimental design was split-plot, in which N levels were placed in the main plots, while wheat genotypes were arranged in sub-plots. To predict the yield and quality traits, the NDVI and SPAD values recorded at heading, anthesis and milky growth stages were taken as response variables. The results revealed that N fertilization significantly influenced the SPAD and NDVI attributed traits of durum wheat, except NDVI at milky stage (NDVI-M) during the first year. The maximum value of NDVI was recorded by 150 kg N ha−1, while control treatment gave the minimum value. The grain yield was increased with the increasing dose of the N up to 100 kg N ha−1 (4121 kg ha−1), and thereafter, it was declined with further increased of N levels. However, the variation between the genotypes was not significant, except NDVI and SPAD values at the milky stage. The genotype Svevo had the highest NDVI values at all growth stages, while the genotype Sena recorded the maximum SPAD values during both years. Similarly, the N levels significantly influenced the quality traits (protein, wet gluten, starch test weight and Zeleny sedimentation) of both genotypes. The highly significant relationship of SPAD and NDVI with the grain yield and yield attributes showed their reliability as indicators for determining the N deficiency and selection of superior wheat genotypes for ensuring food security under climate change scenario. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deteriorating soil fertility and gradually decreasing rice productivity along with higher greenhouse gas emissions from paddy fields have emerged as serious threats to the sustainability of rice production and food security. Rice production in the subtropical environment in Bangladesh is mostly dependent on synthetic inorganic fertilizer to maintain productivity; however, the inorganic fertilizer has negative effects on global warming. Climate-smart and resilient agricultural production systems are major concerns nowadays to meet sustainable development goals. The study was conducted to evaluate the optimum rate and source of organic amendments on rice productivity and soil fertility along with CH4 emission. A total of nine nutrient combinations were used in the study. The CH4 emission, soil redox potential (Eh), soil pH, soil nitrogen and organic carbon, available phosphorus, rice grain and straw were greatly affected by the application of different rates and sources of the nutrient. However, the soil exchangeable K content, plant height, and harvest index were not affected. Among the treatments, the application of 75% recommended fertilizer (RF) + biosolid 2 t ha−1 (T3) was the most effective and showed the superior performance in terms of available P (12.90 ppm), the number of grains panicle−1 (121), and 1000-grain weight (24.6g), rice grain, and straw yield along with the moderate CH4 emission (18.25 mg m−2h−1). On the other hand, the lowest soil Eh (−158 mV) and soil pH (6.65) were measured from the treatment T3. The finding of this study revealed that the application of 75% of RF + biosolid 2 t ha−1 can be recommended as the preferable soil amendment for boosting rice yield, reduce CH4 emissions, and sustainably maintain soil fertility. Furthermore, this finding may help to introduce preferable soil amendment doses, which will contribute to boosting rice productivity and economic turnouts of the farmers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]