Moran Zhang;Yutong Han;Dongping Li;Shengyong Xu;Yuan Huan

Shenzhen Institute of Nutrition and Health, Huazhong Agricultural University, Shenzhen, Guangdong, 518000, China; Key Laboratory of Agricultural Equipment for the Middle and Lower Reaches of the Yangtze River, Ministry of Agriculture, College of Engineering, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, Hubei, 430070, China;Shenzhen Branch, Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture/Genome Analysis Laboratory of the Ministry of Agriculture, Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shenzhen, Guangdong, 518000, China;National Key Laboratory for Germplasm Innovation & Utilization of Horticultural Crops, College of Horticulture and Forestry Sciences, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, Hubei, 430070, China;Department of Biomedical Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong, 518000, China; Shenzhen Branch, Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture/Genome Analysis Laboratory of the Ministry of Agriculture, Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shenzhen, Guangdong, 518000, Chin;Key Laboratory of Agricultural Equipment for the Middle and Lower Reaches of the Yangtze River, Ministry of Agriculture, College of Engineering, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, Hubei, 430070, China;Tibet Lvzhiyuan Modern Agricultural Technology Co., Ltd., Shannan, Guangdong, 856000, China

Smart horticulture;Horticultural crops;Emerging technologies;Artificial intelligence;Big data;The Internet of Thing

Horticultural products such as fruits, vegetables, and tea offer a range of important nutrients such as protein, carbohydrates, vitamins and lipids. However, the present yield and quality do not meet the requirements of the rapid population growth associated with global climate change, the decline in horticultural practitioners, poor automation, and epidemic diseases such as COVID-19. In this context, smart horticulture is expected to greatly improve the land output rates, resource-use efficiency, and productivity, all of which should facilitate the sustainable development of the horticulture industry. Emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence, big data, the Internet of Things, and cloud computing, play an important role. This paper reviews past developments and current challenges, offering future perspectives for horticultural chain management. We expect that the horticulture industry would benefit from integration with smart technologies. This requires the use of novel solutions to build a new advanced system encompassing smart breeding, smart cultivation, smart transportation, and smart sales. Finally, a new development approach combining precise perception, smart operation, and smart control should be instituted in the horticulture industry. Within 30 years, we expect that the industry will embrace mechanical, automatic, and informational production to transform into a smart industry.