Hilly and mountainous areas are important production bases for grain, oil and featured agricultural products in China, but the comprehensive mechanization rate of main crop cultivation and harvesting is only around 50%, which is the weak link in China’s current agricultural mechanization development. The No.1 Central Document in 2023 requires "stepping up R&D of large intelligent agricultural machinery and equipment, small machinery suitable for hilly and mountainous areas, and horticultural machinery". And the report of the 20th National Congress of the CPC proposes "enhancing agricultural science, technology and equipment support". Therefore, R&D and promotion of practical and efficient agricultural equipment for hilly and mountainous areas is a major strategic task to accelerate agricultural and rural modernization and build an agricultural powerhouse.

In order to accelerate R&D demonstration of new equipment, technologies and models for agriculture in hilly and mountainous areas, and strengthen communication and collaboration among multiple stakeholders in agricultural equipment R&D, production and promotion, our journal plans to launch a special issue on "Intelligent Agricultural Machinery and Equipment Technologies for Hilly and Mountainous Areas". We sincerely invite Professor Cao Guangqiao, Associate Director of Nanjing Research Institute of Agricultural Mechanization, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of China, and editorial board member of our journal, to serve as the Guest Editor. We welcome experts, scholars, scientists and researchers worldwide to contribute submissions in relevant fields.

Guest Editor

Cao Guangqiao, Researcher, Associate Director of Nanjing Research Institute of Agricultural Mechanization, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of China; Ph.D. Supervisor; Chief Expert of CAS Innovation Team; Director of China Society of Agronomy; Executive Council Member of Chinese Society of Agricultural Machinery; Vice President of Jiangsu Society of Agricultural Machinery. His main research interests include agricultural mechanization development strategies, agricultural mechanization in hilly and mountainous areas, and mechanization of vegetable production. He has presided over more than 40 national key R&D programs, national soft science research projects, etc., published over 50 academic papers, and compiled or participated in editing 5 academic monographs. He has led the formulation of 3 agricultural industry standards, and 5 policy recommendations have received positive comments from provincial and ministerial leaders.

Scope of Papers (including but not limited to)

Agricultural mechanization systems and development strategies for hilly and mountainous areas

Power systems for tractors suited for hilly and mountainous terrains

Key technologies and components for agricultural equipment in hilly and mountainous areas

Intelligent control systems for agricultural operations in complex terrains

Autonomous navigation and obstacle avoidance systems for complex mountainous terrains

Posture adjustment mechanisms and coordination control strategies for agricultural machinery in mountainous areas

New energy power machinery for hilly, mountainous and horticultural operations

Interactions among agricultural machinery, soil and crops in hilly and mountainous areas

Fruit harvesting and transportation robots for hilly and mountainous orchards

Technologies and equipment for automatic grading of agricultural and sideline products

Paper Submission

Requirements: Submitted papers should be original research not published elsewhere, in either Chinese or English. The topic should fall within the scope outlined above, with clear opinions, substantial materials, correct data, reasonable argumentation and proper formatting. The paper should be concise, informative and well-structured.

Types of Submissions: Research articles, reviews, etc.

Deadline: March 15, 2024

Submission Website: http://znhnyzbxb.niam.com.cn

Contact Email: jiam@caas.cn

Managing Editors: Qiao Lu, +86 15366092883 (WeChat); Zhu Bing, +86 15366092857 (WeChat)

Note: Papers submitted to this special issue that pass expert review will be fast-tracked for publication in Issue 2, 2024.