In this work, we propose a novel approach for tomato pollination that utilizes visual servo control. The objective is to meet the growing demand for automated robotic pollinators to overcome the decline in bee populations. Our approach focuses on addressing this challenge by leveraging visual servo control to guide the pollination process. The proposed method leverages deep learning to estimate the orientations and depth of detected flower, incorporating CAD-based synthetic images to ensure dataset diversity. By utilizing a 3D camera, the system accurately estimates flower depth information for visual servoing. The robustness of the approach is validated through experiments conducted in a laboratory environment with a 3D printed tomato flower plant. The results demonstrate a high detection rate, with a mean average precision of 91.2 %. Furthermore, the average depth error for accurately localizing the pollination target is impressively minimal, measuring only 1.1 cm. This research presents a promising solution for tomato pollination, showcasing the effectiveness of visual-guided servo control and its potential to address the challenges posed by diminishing bee populations in greenhouses.

Greenhouses are inflated structures with transparent covering that are used to grow crops under controlled climatic conditions. Crops are protected from extreme climate-related events by being enclosed. Furthermore, the greenhouse design ratio impacts the temperature and humidity distribution profile uniformity as well as the greenhouse. As a result, by effectively designing the greenhouse structure, building materials, dimensions, and shapes, the cost of cooling management strategies can be reduced. Structures with changed arch shapes showed to be more effective at reducing greenhouse cooling demands in hot areas. To demonstrate the tropical region’s inherent capabilities for generating a proper atmosphere for plant development, the optimal temperature, humidity, light, and PH for greenhouse production of crops were supplied. Greenhouse cooling systems are dominated by local environmental characteristics that have an immediate impact on their indoor climatic conditions. Photovoltaic systems in greenhouses have proven technological capacity in real-world settings in this area. This could increase the energy efficiency of some agrivoltaic greenhouse design options.

Whiteflies are one of the major pests of tomato under greenhouses, and their control partly relies on biocontrol strategies. Among those biocontrol agents, parasitoids or predators are widely used. However, the introduction of a biocontrol agent in a new area is not trivial. For that reason, we investigated the use of a tropical native mirid, Nesidiocoris volucer (Hemiptera: Miridae), for the biological control of whiteflies among other insect pests on tomato crops under greenhouses in the subtropical island of La Réunion, France. Nesidiocoris volucer life history traits and plant injury were examined. Nymphs developed and survived between 15 and 30°C and required on average 49.41 days at 15°C and on average 10.50 days at 30°C to develop (nymph survival >94%). At 25°C, each female produced on average 65 eggs. Nesidiocoris volucer was able to feed on several prey species, but performed better on whiteflies than on spider mites or thrips. No N. volucer feeding injury was observed on tomato. Nesidiocoris volucer has also been found in tropical countries of Africa, and we believe that the data presented on this natural enemy could be of great importance for the biocontrol of whiteflies in tropical areas.

Management options are needed to limit sweetpotato yield loss due to weeds. Greenhouse studies were conducted in 2018 in Greensboro, NC, and in the field from 2016 to 2018 in Clinton, NC, to evaluate the effect of bicyclopyrone on sweetpotato and Palmer amaranth (field only). In greenhouse studies, Covington and NC04-531 clones were treated with bicyclopyrone (0, 25, 50, 100, or 150 g ai ha−1) either preplant (PP; i.e., immediately before transplanting) or post-transplant (PT; i.e., on the same day after transplanting). Sweetpotato plant injury and stunting increased, and vine length and shoot dry weight decreased with increasing rate of bicyclopyrone regardless of clone or application timing. In field studies, Beauregard (2016) or Covington (2017 and 2018) sweetpotato clones were treated with bicyclopyrone at 50 g ha−1 PP, flumioxazin at 107 g ai ha−1 PP, bicyclopyrone at 50 or 100 g ha−1 PP followed by (fb) S-metolachlor at 800 g ai ha−1 PT, flumioxazin at 107 g ha−1 PP fb S-metolachlor at 800 g ha−1 PT, flumioxazin at 107 g ha−1 PP fb S-metolachlor at 800 g ha−1 PT fb bicyclopyrone at 50 g ha−1 PT-directed, and clomazone at 420 g ai ha−1 PP fb S-metolachlor at 800 g ha−1 PT. Bicyclopyrone PP at 100 g ha−1 fb S-metolachlor PT caused 33% or greater crop stunting and 44% or greater marketable yield reduction compared with the weed-free check in 2016 (Beauregard) and 2017 (Covington). Bicyclopyrone PP at 50 g ha−1 alone or fb S-metolachlor PT resulted in 12% or less injury and similar no. 1 and jumbo yields as the weed-free check in 2 of 3 yr. Injury to Covington from bicyclopyrone PT-directed was 4% or less at 4 or 5 wk after transplanting and marketable yield was similar to that of the weed-free check in 2017 and 2018.

Understanding control of glyphosate-resistant (GR) Palmer amaranth with multiple herbicide sites of action, including synthetic auxins, is crucial for growers to minimize GR Palmer amaranth interference with crops. Field studies in 2013 and 2014 and a greenhouse study in 2014 were conducted in Stoneville, MS, to evaluate POST control of GR Palmer amaranth with 2,4-D alone and in mixtures with glyphosate and/or glufosinate. In the greenhouse study, control of 5- and 10-cm GR Palmer amaranth was 87% with 2,4-D at 0.84 kg ae ha−1. Dry weight reduction of GR Palmer amaranth was ≥81% with 2,4-D at 0.84 kg ha−1. In field studies, mixtures of glufosinate at 0.59 kg ai ha−1 and 2,4-D at 0.56 or 1.12 kg ae ha−1 controlled 5- to 10-cm GR Palmer amaranth 87% at 28 d after treatment (DAT). Averaged across glyphosate treatments, glufosinate applied alone applied to 5- to 10-cm GR Palmer amaranth reduced dry weight at 28 DAT to 20 g m−2 from 82 g m−2 and was comparable with that following 2,4-D applied alone at 1.12 kg ae ha−1 and mixtures of glufosinate plus 2,4-D at 0.56 and 1.12 kg ae ha−1. Mixtures of 2,4-D plus glufosinate provided ≥92% control of 15- to 20-cm GR Palmer amaranth at 28 DAT. When applied to 15- to 20-cm plants, mixtures of 2,4-D plus glufosinate reduced GR Palmer amaranth density to ≤5 plants m−2 compared with 65 plants m−2 where no 2,4-D or glufosinate was applied. Glufosinate and 2,4-D are viable control options for 5- to 10-cm or 15- to 20-cm GR Palmer amaranth. However, 2,4-D did not improve GR Palmer amaranth control when added to any herbicide mixture except glyphosate and glufosinate applied to 15- to 20-cm plants at the 28 DAT evaluation.

Waterhemp [Amaranthus tuberculatus (Moq.) J. D. Sauer] is a troublesome weed occurring in cropping systems throughout the U.S. Midwest with an ability to rapidly evolve herbicide resistance that could be associated with competitive disadvantages. Little research has investigated the competitiveness of different A. tuberculatus populations under similar environmental conditions. The objectives of this study were to evaluate: (1) the interspecific competitiveness of three herbicide-resistant A. tuberculatus populations (2,4-D and atrazine resistant [2A-R], glyphosate and protoporphyrinogen oxidase [PPO]-inhibitor resistant [GP-R], and 2,4-D, atrazine, glyphosate, and PPO-inhibitor susceptible [2AGP-S]) with soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.]; and (2) the density-dependent response of each A. tuberculatus population within a constant soybean population in a greenhouse environment. Amaranthus tuberculatus competitiveness with soybean was evaluated across five target weed densities of 0, 2, 4, 8, and 16 plants pot−1 (equivalent to 0, 20, 40, 80, and 160 plants m−2) with 3 soybean plants pot−1 (equivalent to 300,000 plants ha−1). At the R1 soybean harvest time, no difference in soybean biomass was observed across A. tuberculatus populations. At A. tuberculatus densities <8 plants pot−1, the 2AGP-S population had the greatest biomass and stem diameter per plant. At the R7 harvest time, the 2AGP-S population caused the greatest loss in soybean biomass and number of pods compared with the other populations at densities of <16 plants pot−1. The 2AGP-S population had greater early-season biomass accumulation and stem diameter compared with the other A. tuberculatus populations, which resulted in greater late-season reduction in soybean biomass and number of pods. This research indicates there may be evidence of interspecific competitive fitness cost associated with the evolution of 2,4-D, atrazine, glyphosate, and PPO-inhibitor resistance in A. tuberculatus. Focus should be placed on effectively using cultural weed management practices to enhance crop competitiveness, especially early in the season, to increase suppression of herbicide-resistant A. tuberculatus.

The difficulties of transporting heavy mobile robots limit robotic experiments in agriculture. Virtual reality however, offers an alternative to conduct experiments in agriculture. This paper presents an application of virtual reality in a robot navigational experiment using SolidWorks and simulated into MATLAB. Trajectories were initiated using Probabilistic Roadmap and compared based on travel time, distance and tracking error, and the efficiency was calculated. The simulation results showed that the proposed method was able to conduct the navigational experiment inside the virtual environment. U-turn trajectory was chosen as the best trajectory for crop inspection with 82.7% efficiency.

Orange hawkweed is a perennial European plant that has colonized roadsides and grasslands in south-central and southeast Alaska. This plant is forming near-monotypic stands, reducing plant diversity, and decreasing pasture productivity. A replicated greenhouse study was conducted in 2006 and repeated in 2007 to determine the efficacy of six herbicides (aminopyralid, clopyralid, picloram, picloram + chlorsulfuron, picloram + metsulfuron, and triclopyr) for orange hawkweed control. Based on results of the greenhouse trials, replicated field studies were conducted at two sites each year in 2007 and 2008 with three rates each of aminopyralid and clopyralid to determine efficacy of orange hawkweed control and impacts on nontarget native vegetation. In the field, only aminopyralid at 105 g ae ha−1 (0.1 lb ae ac−1) and clopyralid at 420 g ae ha−1 controlled orange hawkweed consistently, with peak injury observed 1 yr after treatment. Control with clopyralid was slightly less than that provided by aminopyralid at all observation times, except at Homer, AK, in 2007, where there was a near-monotypic stand of orange hawkweed, and clopyralid did not remove all orange hawkweed plants. Aminopyralid controlled clover (Trifolium spp.), seacoast angelica (Angelica lucida), arctic daisy (Chrysanthemum arcticum), common hempnettle (Galeopsis tetrahit), and willow (Salix spp.) in the treated areas. Other plant species, such as grasses and some annual forbs, recovered or increased following control of the hawkweed. Clopyralid had less impact on nontarget species with most recovering the year after treatment. In a pasture system, where grasses are preferred to forbs and shrubs, aminopyralid has an advantage because it controls a broader array of forbs compared with clopyralid. In natural areas, where the desire to retain biodiversity and the aesthetics of multiple forb species mixed with grasses and willows is preferred, clopyralid will leave greater species diversity than aminopyralid.

Dinitroaniline and amide herbicides have been continually applied in garlic in China, leading to the change of weed community and dominant weed species. Catchweed bedstraw, shepherd's-purse, and flixweed have become major troublesome weeds. Crop safety of fluorochloridone to 18 crops (at rates of 500 and 1,000 g ai ha−1) and weed efficacy against 35 weeds (at rates of 125 and 250 g ha−1) were determined in greenhouse studies. Visual estimate indicated that fluorochloridone was not safe to many crops, especially cruciferous crops. Among all of the trial crops, garlic was the only crop which was not injured in both PRE and POST application at rate of 500 g ha−1, even when treated with 1,000 g ha−1. Fluorochloridone showed high efficacy against most weeds tested in this experiment when applied PRE, but could not offer a satisfactory control when applied POST. Further rate-response study of fluorochloridone to garlic and six weeds was also investigated. PRE application of fluorochloridone to garlic was safer than POST, and the rates for 10% growth reductions (GR10s) were 1,959 g ha−1 for PRE and 537 g ha−1 for POST. When applied PRE, GR90s of shepherd's-purse and flixweed were 19.2 and 70.3 g ha−1, respectively. Though GR90 of catchweed bedstraw was 541 g ha−1, it could be totally controlled without injuring garlic. On the basis of these results, fluorochloridone has an excellent prospect for weed control in garlic fields.

Black henbane is a poisonous, invasive plant in the family Solanaceae, and is typically associated with highly disturbed environments, such as pipelines, roadsides, and mammalian burrows. Often, such disturbances require reseeding for successful restoration; thus, the potential exists for competition between henbane and perennial grasses commonly used in restoration projects. These competitive interactions have not, to our knowledge, been evaluated. We conducted a greenhouse study to compare the response of henbane when grown alone and in combination with three common, cool season, perennial, northern mixed prairie grass species. We examined both seedling and mature grass response to the presence or absence of henbane and the response of henbane to the grasses. Using the relative neighbor-effect index, black henbane was found to be a very poor competitor with mature grasses and two out of three seedling grasses tested. All measures of henbane growth were significantly lower among plants grown with a mature grass pot companion. Total biomass of henbane was up to 99% lower when grown with mature grasses. Mature grasses were not negatively affected when grown in combination with henbane. Western wheatgrass (Pascopyrum smithii) was the only seedling grass that was competitive with henbane but was also the only seedling grass negatively affected by henbane in both biomass and tiller production. These experiments suggest that henbane is not well suited for invasion of mature grass stands but may negatively influence some perennial grass seedlings in restoration situations.

Bird vetch is a perennial Eurasian plant which, unlike many exotic weed species, can invade low fertility areas that have not been disturbed. It also is common in pastures, woodland, and tall forb communities. Bird vetch is expanding along Alaskan roadsides, in urbanized areas, and in low density forests. A greenhouse study was conducted to determine efficacy of six herbicide treatments applied at reduced rates in 2005 and again in 2006 for bird vetch seedling control. Bird vetch seedlings were tolerant of reduced rates of chlorsulfuron and 2,4-DB; however, complete control was achieved with rates of clopyralid, dicamba plus diflufenzopyr, triclopyr, and 2,4-D that were a fourth to an eighth of the full registered rate. These results will be important for developing effective, low-cost methods for controlling bird vetch in Alaska, especially on the outer margins of infestations.

Root-knot nematodes (RKNs), Meloidogyne spp., are considered, worldwide, as one of the main pathogens of solanaceous crops, including pepper (Capsicum spp.). Restrictions on the use of standard nematicides have motivated the development and use of resistant cultivars and rootstocks. Three genes in pepper, called Me1, Me3 and N, confer resistance to the three main RKN species (Meloidogyne incognita, Meloidogyne javanica and Meloidogyne arenaria). However, their effectiveness seems to be limited because nematode populations that have overcome the resistance have been found, leading to a search for new sources of resistance and strategies to preserve their effectiveness. In two greenhouses and over a 7-month growing period, we evaluated the resistance to M. incognita and the agronomic behaviour as rootstocks of nine pepper (Capsicum annuum) accessions – HDA330 (Me1 carrier), Serrano Criollo de Morelos, (Me3 carrier), Yolo Wonder (partially resistant) and another six accessions of unknown resistance originating from cultivars well adapted to the local growing conditions. The resistance conferred by the Me1 gene was more robust than that conferred by Me3. Resistance to M. incognita was found in four new accessions: P13, CTL, CT5, and P14. In P13, the level of resistance was similar to that of HDA330. The resistant accessions showed better agronomic behaviour than the susceptible accessions, which was most noticeable towards the final of the growing period. Some accessions constitute a potential resource for use in the genetic breeding of RKN-resistant rootstocks.

The lichen Arthonia orchidicida is described as new to science from the leaves of orchids in a nursery. It is a pest organism, as it is affecting the habitus of the plants and diminishing the vitality of small plants. No prophylax is known and the lichen has to be regularly removed by rubbing it off manually. It is the first lichen reported to cause economic damage. It occurs in the Netherlands, but its country of origin is unknown.

The development of organic protected cultivation taking place in densely populated areas has raised the question whether it is an environmentally friendly production system. The present study investigated energy consumption of organic pear production in two production systems, namely in traditional Chinese solar greenhouses and in the open field. In both production systems, energy output/input ratio and energy productivity were used as indicators to determine the energy efficiency; yield, cost of production, net economic return per land area unit and benefit/cost ratio were used to evaluate economic productivity. The analysis results indicated that energy input and energy output per land area unit in the solar greenhouse were higher than in the open field; whereas energy efficiency in terms of output/input ratio and energy productivity were lower in the solar greenhouse than those in the open field. However, if energy input sequestered in the protected structure was excluded in the solar greenhouse production system, energy efficiency was higher in the greenhouse system than in the open-field system. Our analysis further showed that the economic costs, the yield, cost of production, gross product value and net income per land area unit in the greenhouse were more than twice as high as those in the open field due to a higher tree density and a premium price. However, the production taking place in the open field used a great share of renewable energy and higher energy efficiency, which may comply more with the principles of organic farming than the greenhouse production system.

In this study, Coccinella septenipnnctata was efficient in controlling Aphis gossypii populations on cucumber in the greenhouse. This efficiency was a function of the predator/prey ratio and the initial aphid density at the time of release of the predator. Prey density had a large influence on the fecundity and establishment of this coccinellid in the greenhouse.