A Comprehensive Electronic Platform for Precision Agriculture Integrating Aerial and Ground Nodes: A Practical Case Study

Climate change and the depletion of natural resources are driving a shift towards more innovative and sustainable farming practices, with precision farming emerging as a transformative approach. This paper introduces a novel comprehensive electronic platform that integrates ground, aerial and actuation nodes, leveraging IoT-enabled sensors and real-time decision support systems. The platform, which has been successfully tested in a small-scale farm in southern Italy (Apulia region) during a period of severe drought and elevated temperatures, has been designed to automate and optimize agricultural processes (including water and fertilizer application) using a low-cost, scalable solution suitable for both small- and large-scale enterprises. The preliminary results presented herein demonstrate the platform's capability to monitor and optimize crop health. Future work will focus on bridging the gap between field and aerial data, improving data integration and enhancing analytical capabilities through advanced modeling and data mining.