Digital Transformation of Horticultural Crop Production Systems Toward Sustainable Agricultural Productivity

The rising global population puts pressure on the production of horticultural crops worldwide, creating soaring demand on horticultural products.To meet this demand, conventional horticultural crop production should be transformed into a more efficient and productive system with a better ability to face current challenges, such as increasing labor and land costs, climate change, pest infestations, the degradation of soil nutrients, and water scarcity. This chapter reviews the recent developments in digital horticultural crop production systems that created an opportunity to address the aforementioned challenges. Different technologies, such as the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI), and big data, usher the digital transformation of horticultural production that aimed at making the system more efficient and effective. These technologies are now being used in greenhouses and plant factories and are being integrated in different crop production operations, such as pest and disease monitoring and detection, nutrient and water management as well as in harvesting and postharvest operations. The digital transformation of horticultural crop production systems is exciting and optimistic; however, there are still challenges that need to be addressed to fully utilize these technologies at the farm level. The lack of infrastructure, high costs, and some social and behavioral constraints hinder the adoption, particularly in developing countries and rural areas. On the other hand, the digital transformation of horticulture can create new opportunities for socioeconomic growth, digital literacy, SDG attainment, and environmental and health benefits towards a more sustainable agricultural productivity.