Dear Colleagues,

To meet the growing demand for high-quality food by a growing global population, within a context of limited resources (arable land, water, nutrients), the primary challenge of agriculture is to produce better and more, using resources sparingly and increasing the efficiency of their use, in order to reduce the environmental impact and promote the role of agriculture in sustainable development. Furthermore, climate variability and change will have a greater impact on agricultural production. It is expected that there will be an increase in crop irrigation water requirements or, in other cases, an excess of water as a consequence of extreme precipitation events, with negative repercussions also on the nutrient balance and loss due to leaching and volatilization.

We can actually produce more with less, with reference to the current consumption rate of resources, especially by relying on technological innovations and improved scientific knowledge. Digital tools are transforming traditional farming methods, improving efficiency and offering sustainable solutions. The short-term strategy calls for the application and expansion of the agricultural technologies currently in use in order to follow the fastest path to improve the situation.

The general objective of this Special Issue (SI) is, therefore, to collect original scientific works and reviews that can provide a contribution to the sustainable use of resources for agricultural production, with the main objective of producing more and better without necessarily increasing the use of resources (i.e., water, fertilisers).

In particular, this Special Issue will deal with research topics relating to the efficient management of water and fertilizers, and will also take into consideration the improvement of product quality, both in open fields and in greenhouses.

All types of manuscript (original research, reviews, short communications, letter to editor and discussion) are welcome.

Articles may include, but are not limited to, the following topics:

• Agronomic practices (e.g., water and nutrient management, cultivars, sowing/planting methods, mulching, soil management) that can lead to water and nutrient savings;
• Irrigation and fertilization strategies and techniques that improve product quality, water use efficiency and fertilizers productivity;
• Precision agriculture techniques to optimize water and fertilizer input and obtain high-quality products;
• Assessment of agricultural production processes’ sustainability as affected by the adoption of innovative agronomic practices, with a focus on water and nutrient management. 

Dr. Francesca Boari
Dr. Vito Cantore
Prof. Dr. Mladen Todorovic
Dr. Francesco Fabiano Montesano
Dr. Rossella Albrizio
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• water use efficiency
• nitrogen use efficiency
• water saving
• nitrogen saving
• DSS
• sensors
• precision agriculture
• climate change
• yield
• product quality