The incorporation of advanced technologies into Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) platforms have enabled many practical applications in Precision Agriculture (PA) over the past decade. These PA tools offer capabilities that increase agricultural productivity and inputs’ efficiency and minimize operational costs simultaneously. However, these platforms also have some constraints that limit the application of UAVs in agricultural operations. The constraints include limitations in providing imagery of adequate spatial and temporal resolutions, dependency on weather conditions, and geometric and radiometric correction requirements. In this paper, a practical guide on technical characterizations of common types of UAVs used in PA is presented. This paper helps select the most suitable UAVs and on-board sensors for different agricultural operations by considering all the possible constraints. Over a hundred research studies were reviewed on UAVs applications in PA and practical challenges in monitoring and mapping field crops. We concluded by providing suggestions and future directions to overcome challenges in optimizing operational proficiency.

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Conventional measurement methods for above-ground biomass (AGB) are time-consuming, inaccurate, and labor-intensive. Unmanned aerial systems (UASs) have emerged as a promising solution, but a standardized procedure for UAS-based AGB estimation is lacking. This study reviews recent findings (2018–2022) on UAS applications for AGB estimation and develops a vegetation type-specific standard protocol. Analysis of 211 papers reveals the prevalence of rotary-wing UASs, especially quadcopters, in agricultural fields. Sensor selection varies by vegetation type, with LIDAR and RGB sensors in forests, and RGB, multispectral, and hyperspectral sensors in agricultural and grass fields. Flight altitudes and speeds depend on vegetation characteristics and sensor types, varying among crop groups. Ground control points (GCPs) needed for accurate AGB estimation differ based on vegetation type and topographic complexity. Optimal data collection during solar noon enhances accuracy, considering image quality, solar energy availability, and reduced atmospheric effects. Vegetation indices significantly affect AGB estimation in vertically growing crops, while their influence is comparatively less in forests, grasses, and horizontally growing crops. Plant height metrics differ across vegetation groups, with maximum height in forests and vertically growing crops, and central tendency metrics in grasses and horizontally growing crops. Linear regression and machine learning models perform similarly in forests, with machine learning outperforming in grasses; both yield comparable results for horizontally and vertically growing crops. Challenges include sensor limitations, environmental conditions, reflectance mixture, canopy complexity, water, cloud cover, dew, phenology, image artifacts, legal restrictions, computing power, battery capacity, optical saturation, and GPS errors. Addressing these requires careful sensor selection, timing, image processing, compliance with regulations, and overcoming technical limitations. Insights and guidelines provided enhance the precision and efficiency of UAS-based AGB estimation. Understanding vegetation requirements aids informed decisions on platform selection, sensor choice, flight parameters, and modeling approaches across different ecosystems. This study bridges the gap by providing a standardized protocol, facilitating widespread adoption of UAS technology for AGB estimation.

Post-planting operations (e.g., fertilizing, cover crop planting) with a tractor and towed cart in standing crop (e.g., corn) are challenging. Tractor and cart should be kept within a certain boundary region to avoid crop damage. An automatic guidance system on the tractor is the solution of the issue; however, tractor’s auto-guidance does not guarantee the cart clear and exact following of the tractor. There is insufficient research in automatic control of a towed cart. Therefore, this research was undertaken to design a controller to manage lateral and longitudinal positions of a tractor-towed cart. A novel fuzzy logic based adaptive controller algorithm is proposed to control tractor-cart system steering with additional steering torque for the cart, ensuring that the entire system follows the desired trajectory within the set constraints. A hydraulic drive design for the cart was developed with a control principle to closely follow the tractor’s path and minimize damage to the plants. The proposed steering algorithm and designed controller were validated with interchangeable trajectory patterns via simulations in MATLAB/Simulink. The results demonstrated that the performances of the designed hydraulic drive and the accuracy of the proposed control algorithm were appropriate to steer the towed-cart with minimal damages on plant rows.

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