Sorghum crop is grown under tropical and temperate latitudes for several purposes including production of health promoting food from the kernel and forage and biofuels from aboveground biomass. One of the concerns of policy-makers and sorghum growers is to cost-effectively predict biomass yields early during the cropping season to improve biomass and biofuel management. The objective of this study was to investigate if Sentinel-2 satellite images could be used to predict within-season biomass sorghum yields in the Mediterranean region. Thirteen machine learning algorithms were tested on fortnightly Sentinel-2A and Sentinel-2B estimates of the fraction of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fAPAR) in combination with in situ aboveground biomass yields from demonstrative fields in Italy. A gradient boosting algorithm implementing the xgbtree method was the best predictive model as it was satisfactorily implemented anywhere from May to July. The best prediction time was the month of May followed by May–June and May–July. To the best of our knowledge, this work represents the first time Sentinel-2-derived fAPAR is used in sorghum biomass predictive modeling. The results from this study will help farmers improve their sorghum biomass business operations and policy-makers and extension services improve energy planning and avoid energy-related crises.
Social farming (SF) has emerged as a social innovation practice shaping heterogeneous approaches and results. This study discusses the complexity of SF policy and practices, and it is led by the main hypothesis that the relationship between agricultural and social...
Since the Green Revolution, worldwide agriculture has been characterized by a typical top–down approach. The degree of autonomy, creativity, and responsibility of farmers has been limited by the continuous external inputs of chemicals, machinery, advice, subsidies and knowledge. The issue...
The economic globalisation has opened new pathways for commerce and triggered a logistical revolution, which in turn has produced enormous technological innovations. In this context, the role of startups is becoming increasingly crucial since they are positioning themselves as innovation...
Networks and partnerships are commonly-used tools to foster knowledge sharing between actors and organisations in the Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation System (AKIS), but in Europe the policy emphasis on including users, such as farmers and foresters, is relatively recent. This...
The EU rural development policy has addressed challenges related to climate change in agriculture by introducing public voluntary schemes, which financially support the adoption of climate-smart agricultural practices. Several factors, most of which are non-financial ones, drive adoption and continuation...
