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Precision farming technologies (PFTs) can have a significant impact on reducing the dependency on plant protection products (PPP) for crop protection. PFTs for crop protection comprises an extensive suite of digital solutions that can be used to predict, detect, and control pests. In this paper, we report the results of a systematic literature meta-analysis to map PFTs in relation to crop protection and identify trends and gaps in the use of these technologies in order for them to be easily adopted by farmers. In total, 239 different research articles were assessed in terms of sensor, platform, crop, pest, pest management stage, and impact type. The majority of research articles focused on arable crops and on weed management. The identified PFTs can achieve up to 97 % savings in herbicides, reduce the area that needs insecticide application by up to 70 %, and reduce weed densities by 89 %. In the future, high resolutions images and proximal sensing with heterogeneous robotic systems is expected to make pest detection and control more efficient.

Although precision farming technologies (PFTs) have the ability to reduce the use of pesticides, delivering on this potential relies on the adoption of PFTs by the farming community. With small and medium-sized farmers representing more than 95% of the total number of farmers while cultivating less than 30% of the total cultivated area globally, and presenting a low adoption rate of PFTs, their adoption of PFTs becomes key to understand the global potential of these technologies. In this paper we report an expert knowledge elicitation of the main aspects of PFTs adoption by small and medium-sized farmers covering the perceived usefulness for their farms, the main barriers for adoption and the role of agricultural institutions and policies in overcoming these. Data were obtained via an online survey which was answered by 175 agricultural experts from around the globe. From the analysis of the responses, we can conclude that the usefulness of PFTs are crop and technology specific. Nearly all respondents considered the lack of technical support to be the most important limiting factor for the adoption of PFTs and identified farmers who are already adopters of PFTs and farmer cooperatives as the most promising agents for disseminating this support and increasing adoption by other farmers. Provision of incentives to lower investment costs together with advisory services were the most important policy interventions identified by respondents to foster the adoption of PFTs by small and medium-sized farmers. With regards to the way PFTs would be implemented in practice, most respondents believed that the PFTs will be purchased as a service from private companies by small and medium-sized farmers. Finally, future research is needed to study the impact of policies on the adoption of PFTs for crop protection in order to identify optimized policy pathways to enhance their adoption by small and medium-sized farmers.

Irreducible dislocation of the radial head is an extremely rare lesion, especially in an adult patient. We present a case of diaphyseal radius fracture associated with a posterior elbow dislocation and an irreducible radial head dislocation. After closed reduction of the elbow, we performed open reduction and ostheosynthesis of the radius, and the radial head remained irreducible. We finally found, surrounding the radius, the interposition of the insertion of the biceps, and, after extracting it, we performed the correct reduction of the radial head. Six months after the surgery, the patient presented a full articular balance, with no pain. We have not found any similar case in the literature.

Spontaneous spinal epidural hematoma is an uncommon condition and a neurological emergency. The clinical presentation of this type of hematoma is very variable, ranging from a backache up to a quadriplegia, according to the severity and the site of compression. Here, we discuss the clinical case of a 71-year-old patient with heart problems, under previous treatment with acenocumarol, that suffered a spontaneous epidural hematoma. The patient, previously asymptomatic, presented, sudden cervical pain when he bent over, followed by weakness in the lower and the upper limbs. Due to the clinical suspicion, an emergency MRI was performed, showing an epidural hematoma extending from C4 to T8. Early diagnosis and decompressive treatment are mandatory to minimize permanent neurological damage.

Highlights • Current adopters of precision agriculture are divergent from current non-adopters. • First adopters are influenced by economic and informational interventions. • Increasing adoption is constrained by scepticism towards economic returns. • EU agricultural policy does not recognise complexity across domains to enable uptake. Abstract Precision agriculture technologies (PATs) offer an approach to arable systems which both enhance productivity and minimise environmental harm. Despite expected economic gains uptake by farmers has been low. This paper explores the intended adoption of PATs through a survey of 971 farmers growing wheat, potato and cotton in five European countries. We apply a count data modelling framework to accommodate the inherent structural differences between the current adopters and non-adopters of PATs. This is augmented by qualitative analysis of the main thematic reasons for intended uptake. Results indicate non-adopters have more belief in their knowledge of field topology and are generally older than current adopters. Those non-adopters intending to adopt PATs in the future are more favourable to a wider range of incentives than current adopters. Attitudinal differences towards the economic certainty of investment and payback periods also emerge. The results indicate that a gradient of adoption is occurring within European arable farming systems which may lead to inequalities in technology access. Recognition of these differences at policy level could lead to cost-effective interventions which maximise uptake, generate returns to candidate farmers and meet policy desires for sustainable agricultural production in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Advisors are found to be influencers of PATs adoption. • Increased PAT adoption requires positive belief in a return by the farmer. • Information interventions may be more successful than fiscal interventions. Abstract Precision agricultural technologies (PATs) allow more detailed management of in-field variability. Policy and advisory communities have championed PATs as a route to preserving natural capital whilst increasing productivity from agricultural land. A range of PATs are currently available for the agricultural producer but uptake varies by the type of technology and region. Whereas most studies on uptake have focused on US or Australia we empirically examine uptake of machine guidance (MG) and variable rate nitrogen technologies (VRNT) within European farming systems. Using primary information from 971 arable crop growers across five countries: Belgium, Germany, Greece, the Netherlands and the UK, a multilevel random intercept regression estimated a) the differences between adoption and non-adoption and b) the differences between VRNT and MG adoption. We find, aside from size and income differences, which reflect the economic cost barrier to adoption, an attitudinal difference, in terms of optimism towards the technology's economic return leading to more probability of uptake. Moreover innovative and information seeking behaviour also proved significant when upgrading from machine guidance to variable rate technologies. Subsidy and taxation were considered positive drivers of uptake within the community. However, results suggest that more indirect interventions, such as informational support to counteract industry bias, and demonstration to prove the viability of economic return may be effective at meeting land manager and policy expectations towards PATs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]