Digitalization of Integrated Industrial IoT Technologies for Monitoring and Cloud Analytics in Sustainable Horticultural Practices

Agriculture has been one of the most important areas that human being has to rely on but due to ever rising global population and ecological crises, there is an increasing demand for ecological farming techniques. Industry 4.0 is the latest evolution of industries that integrates tools such as IoT, AI, and big data and has the potential to transform agriculture. These technologies allow for precise agriculture, resource management, and better decisions to be made, catalyzing farming practices to be more eco-friendly and effective. One of the important limitations of modern farms is the ability to assess environmental attributes influencing plants' growth and yield. Most traditional techniques do not provide timely assessments and insights, which leads to excessive or insufficient use of inputs, especially water, fertilizers, and pesticides. This kind of mismanagement not only reduces the efficiency of agricultural output but also brings adverse effects to the surrounding nature. By employing digital systems that measure and evaluate state variables of the environment, farmers can intervene appropriately in the crop production process to improve plant health, conserve resources, and protect the environment.