Drought and heat stresses are severe threats to crop production and food security in arid and semi-arid regions of the globe, especially during the summer. This study investigates the effects of micro-spray on micro-climatic and physiological characteristics of cucumber and tomato plants for four growing seasons (two growing seasons each (cucumber: 2017 and 2018 and tomato: 2021 and 2022)). The experiment was conducted in a Venlo-type greenhouse where plants were irrigated with a combined micro-spray and drip irrigation (MSDI) system (1 min for tomato (seven times a day) and 2 mins (four times a day) for cucumber) and drip irrigation (DI). Both plants’ growth and physiological parameters were recorded at the end of the experiment. Moreover, the experimental results showed that plant height and stem diameter increased under MSDI in all seasons. In addition, a micro-spray duration of 2 min decreased the average daily air temperature (T_a) and leaf temperature (T₁) by 0.8 °C and 4.9 °C, respectively, and increased the average daily relative humidity (RH) by 4.3%. However, a micro-spray duration of 1 min reduced the average daily T_a and T₁ by 0.76 °C and 4.6 °C, respectively, but the increase in RH (2.7%) was much lower than that in the single micro-spray duration of 2 min. In addition, the net leaf photosynthetic rate (P_n), the effective quantum yield of PSII (Φ_PSII), and the stomatal conductance (G_s) of both plants increased under MSDI compared with DI. A K-means analysis showed that MSDI could eliminate the adverse effects of sunlight stress on cucumbers and tomatoes. MSDI increased the yield of cucumber and tomato plants by 18.9% and 40.4%, respectively. The fruit weight of cucumber (2017) and tomato (2021) under MSDI did not increase significantly compared to DI, which indicates that MSDI mitigated heat stress, prevented flowers from being burned, and increased the number of fruits. The results also suggested that the total soluble solids in the cucumbers and tomatoes showed no significant differences (p > 0.05) between the two treatments in four seasons. In conclusion, the MSDI system can be an appropriate strategy for the irrigation needs and climate control of plants grown in greenhouses during the hot season.

Autonomous driving solutions for agricultural machinery have advanced rapidly; however, large-wheeled harvesters present unique challenges compared to traditional vehicles. Specifically, the 5.4 m cutting width, 9.2 m minimum turning diameter, and rear-wheel–steered configuration demand specialized path tracking and steering methods. To address these challenges, this study developed an integrated system combining feedforward PID and Look-Ahead Ackermann (LAA) algorithms with sensors, actuators, and an embedded control platform. Field experiments indicated that the system maintained an average lateral deviation of approximately 5 cm on straight-line paths, with slightly larger errors observed only during turning or alignment maneuvers. Additionally, a “three-cut” steering method was implemented, which enhanced path tracking accuracy and prevented crop damage at headland turns. Successful field tests confirmed the robustness of the developed system, highlighting its practical potential for production-level autonomous harvesting.

To address freshwater scarcity and the underutilization of low-saline water in the North China Plain, a field study was conducted to evaluate the effects of alternating sprinkler irrigation using saline and fresh water on soil water–salt dynamics and corn growth. Two salinity levels (3 and 5 g·L⁻¹, representing S1 and S2, respectively) and three irrigation strategies—saline–fresh–saline–fresh (F1), saline–fresh (F2), and mixed saline–fresh (F3)—were tested, resulting in six treatments: S1F1, S1F2, S1F3, S2F1, S2F2, and S2F3. S1F1 significantly improved soil water retention at a 30–50 cm depth and reduced surface electrical conductivity (EC) and Na⁺ concentration (p < 0.05). S1F1 also promoted more uniform Mg²⁺ distribution and limited Ca²⁺ loss. Under high salinity (5 g·L⁻¹), surface salt accumulation and ion concentration (Na⁺, Mg²⁺, and Ca²⁺) increased, particularly in S2F3. Corn growth under alternating irrigation (F1/F2) outperformed the mixed mode (F3), with S1F1 achieving the highest plant height, leaf area, grain number, and 100-grain weight. The S1F1 yield surpassed others by 0.4–3.0% and maintained a better ion balance. These results suggest that alternating irrigation with low-salinity water (S1F1) effectively regulates root-zone salinity and improves crop productivity, offering a practical strategy for the sustainable use of low-saline water resources.

To address the limited synergy between integrated water–fertilizer technologies and intelligent application equipment, as well as the low water–nitrogen use efficiency in rapeseed production systems in southwestern China—which together constrain the large-scale adoption of smart fertigation equipment—this study conducted a two-season field experiment using an integrated water–fertilizer application system. The experiment included two irrigation regimes (W1: 60% ET_c; W2: 100% ET_c) and three nitrogen rates (F1: 220, F2: 300, F3: 360 kg N ha⁻¹), plus a rainfed control (CK), to quantify rapeseed responses to water–nitrogen interactions under an equipment-based fertigation framework. Results showed that water–nitrogen interactions significantly regulated rapeseed physiological processes, growth, yield formation, and resource-use efficiency. Compared with CK, appropriate water and nitrogen supply markedly enhanced PSII efficiency and overall energy conversion. In particular, W2F2 increased leaf photosynthetic rate by 51.2% and 50.8% across the two seasons. Water–nitrogen coupling also improved yield components such as branch number and thousand-seed weight, thereby increasing final yield. Although nitrogen partial factor productivity declined with increasing N rates, smart fertigation improved economic returns to varying degrees. EWM-TOPSIS results indicated that W2F2 consistently achieved the highest comprehensive performance across both seasons. By balancing yield, seed quality, resource efficiency, and economic benefit, this treatment represents the optimal strategy under intelligent fertigation systems. Overall, this study provides a decision-oriented optimization framework based on crop physiological responses under smart water–fertilizer equipment, offering practical guidance for intelligent fertigation deployment in rapeseed systems in southwestern China.