현재 다양한 4차산업의 주요기술로는 빅데이터, 사물인터넷, 인공지능, 블록체인, 혼합현실(MR), 드론 등이 대표적인 기술들이다. 특히 최근에 세계적인 기술적 트랜드로 자리 잡고 있는 "디지털 트윈(digital twin)은 물리적인 사물과 컴퓨터에 동일하게 표현되는 가상 모델의 개념으로서. 실제 물리적인 자산 대신 소프트웨어로 가상화한 자산의 Digital twin을 만들어 모의실험함으로써 실제 농작업의 특성(현재 상태, 농업생산성, 농작업 시나리오, 등)에 대한 정확한 정보를 얻을 수 있다. 본 연구에서는 노지노업 주산지에 대한 디지털 트윈 데이터를 구축하고 스마트팜 단지를 설계 및 구축하여, 통합관제시스템 운영을 통해 자동 물관리, 원격생육예찰, 드론방제, 병충해 예찰작업 등으로 농작업을 효율화하고자 한다. 또한, 빅데이터 분석을 통한 적정량의 비료·농약사용으로 환경적 부하를 최소화하여, 노동력절감, 농작물 생산성을 향상할 수 있는 디지털 환경제어농업을 국내에 보급하고자 한다. 이러한 노지농업 기술은 디지털 농작업 및 재배관리 등 으로 노동력이 절감되고, 기후변화에 대비한 물이용 최적화와 토양오염예방 효과를 기대할 수 있으며, 전국 재배환경 디지털 데이터 확보를 통한 노지작물의 정량적인 생육관리가 가능하게 된다. 또한 농업생산성 향상을 통한 탄소중립 RED++ 활동을 직접적으로 실천을 할 수 있는 방안이다. 취득된 고정밀·고화질 영상기반 농작물 생육데이터취득을 통한 생육현황 분석과 예측은 디지털 영농작업관리에 매우 효과적이다. 실제 국립식량과학원 남부작물부에서는 지중점적, 땅속배수 등 다양한 종류의 노지스마트팜 연구개발을 진행하였다. 특히, 올해부터는 전국농업기술원 단지를 대상으로 노지스마트팜 시설 구축 및 기술 보급을 통한 사업화를 본격적으로 진행하고 있다. 본 연구에서는 디지털 트윈 기술과 노지스마트팜 기술을 융합한 농업분야 구축사례와 향후 활용방안에 대하여 서술하고자 한다.

현대화된 재배법은 작물의 생육을 위해 시설내부의 환경을 제어하고 실시간 센싱 정보를 저장하는 시스템을 구축하고 이를 활용하고 있으나, 작물의 생육·생장에 미치는 직접적인 영향에 대한 생육데이터 취득은 아직까지도 전문 재배사·농민이 수작업을 통해 조사되고 있다. 본 연구는 작물의 생육데이터 자동 취득을 위한 장치를 개발하고 이를 실용화하기 위한 정확도 측정 시험을 진행하였다. 실험을 위한 장치구성은 3D Depth 카메라(Intel D415)와 운용 PC이며 딥러닝 모델을 이용하여 작물의 세부기관을 자동으로 인식하는 모델을 포함한다. 장치는 다양한 재배환경의 작물 생육데이터 취득을 위하여 휴대용, 고정형, 로봇형 3가지 유형으로 개발하였고 측정 정확도 검증은 휴대용 생육측정장치를 활용하여 조사하였다. 이러한 연구를 통해 수작업이 아닌 영상에 의한 생육 데이터수집으로 작물의 생육정보(측정값+이미지)를 확보함으로써 환경데이터와 함께 객관적인 정보에 의한 작물의 생산량, 수확시기 등을 예측하는데 활용될 수 있을것으로 예상된다.

Cadmium and salt exposure to crops is considered vulnerable for production as well as consumption. To address these challenges, the current study aimed to mitigate the toxicity induced by salt and cadmium in soybean plants through the application of bacterial strain Bacillus safensis KJW143 isolated from the rhizosphere of oriental melon..The bioassay analysis revealed that KJW143 is a highly salt-tolerant and cadmium-resistant (Cd) strain with an innate ability to produce melatonin, gibberellin (GA3), Indole-3-Acetic Acid (IAA), and organic acids (i.e., acetic, succinic, lactic, and propionic acids). Soybean plants at 20 days old were treated with KJW143 in a different form (pellet, broth, and together) and their effect on plant performance was investigated. Inoculation with KJW143enhanced plant biomass and growth attributes in soybean plants compared to the control (non-treated). In particular, we observed that only pellet-treated showed 65%, 27.5%, and 28.7% increase in growth (shoot fresh weight) compared to broth, broth with pellet, and control. In addition, bacterial strain KJW143 treatment (only pellet) modulated the physiochemical apparatus of soybean plants by increasing glucose (390%), arabinose (166%), citric acid (22.98%) and reducing hydrogen peroxide (29.7%), catalase (32.1%), salicylic acid (25.6%) compared to plants with combined stressed plants (cd and salinity). These findings suggest that bacterial strain KJW143 could be usedas a biofertilizer to minimize the probable risk of heavy metal and salinity stress on crops.

Global warming has significant effects on the growth and development of wheat and can cause a reduction in grain yield and quality. Grain quality is a major factor determining the end-use quality of flour and a reduction in quality can result economic losses. Therefore, it is necessary to study the physiological characteristic of wheat to understand its response to temperature elevation, which can aid in the development of strategies to mitigate the negative effects of high temperature and sustain wheat production. This study investigated the effects of elevated temperature on grain characteristics and quality during the grain filling period of two Korean bread wheat cultivars Baekkang and Jokyoung. These two bread wheat cultivars were subjected to an increasing temperature conditions regime; T0 (control), T1 (T0+1℃), T2 (T0+2℃) and T3 (T0+3℃). The results showed that high temperature, particularly in T3 condition, caused a significant decrease in the number of grains per spike and grain yield compared to the T0 condition. The physical properties, such as grain weight and hardness, as well as chemical properties, such as starch, protein, gluten content and SDSS, which affect the quality of wheat, were changed by high temperature during the grain filling period. The grain weight and hardness increased, while the grain size not affected by high temperature. On the other hand, amylose content decreased, whereas protein, gluten content and SDSS increased in T3 condition. In this study, high temperature within 3℃ of the optimal growth temperature of wheat, quantity properties decreased while quality-related prosperities increased. To better understand the how this affects the grain's morphology and quality, further molecular and physiological studies are necessary.

With the development of digital technology, the size of the smart agriculture market at home and abroad is rapidly expanding. It is necessary to establish a foundation for sustainable precision agriculture in order to respond to the aging of rural areas and labor shortages. This study was conducted to establish an automated digital agricultural test bed for soybean production management using data suitable for agricultural environmental conditions in Korea and to demonstrate the field of leading complexes. In order to manage water smartly, we installed a subsurface drip irrigation system in the upland field and an underground water level control system in the paddy field. Based on data collected from sensors, water management was controlled by utilizing an integrated control system. Irrigation was carried out when the soil moisture was less than 20%. For effective water management, soil moisture was measured at the surface, 15cm, and 30cm depth. The main growth characteristics and yield, such as stem length, number of branches, and number of nodes of the main stem, were investigated during the main growth period. During the operation of the test bed, drought appeared during the early vegetative growth period and maturity period, but in the open field smart agriculture test bed, water was automatically supplied, reducing labor by 53% and increasing yield by 2%. A test bed was installed for each field digital farming element technology, and it is planned to verify it once more this year. In the future, we plan to expand the field digital farming technology developed for leading farmers to the field.

Heavy metals, including lead (Pb) toxicity, are increasing in soil and are considered toxic in small amounts. Pb contamination is mainly caused by industrialization - smelting, mining. Agricultural practices - sewage sludge, pests and urban practices - lead paint. It can seriously damage and threaten crop growth. Pb can adversely affect plant growth and development by affecting the photosystem, cell membrane integrity, and excessive production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) such as hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂)andsuperoxide(O₂.-). NO is produced via enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants to scavenge ROS and lipid peroxidation substrates in terms of protecting cells from oxidative damage. Thus, NO improves ion homeostasis and confers resistance to metal stress. Our results here suggest that exogenous NO may aid in better growth under lead stress. These enhancements may be aided by NO's ability in sensing, signaling and stress tolerance in plants under heavy metal stress in combination with lead stress. Our results show that GSNO has a positive effect on soybean seedling growth in response to axillary pressure and that NO supplementation helps to reduce chlorophyll maturation and relative water content in leaves and roots following strong burst under lead stress. GSNO supplementation (200 µM and 100 µM) reduced compaction and approximated oxidative damage of MDA, proline and H₂O₂. Under plant tension, a distorted appearance was found in the relief of oxidative damage by ROS scavenging by GSNO application. In summary, modulation of these NO, PCS and prolongation of metal past reversing GSNO application confirms the detoxification of ROS induced by toxic metal rates in soybean. In summary, these NO, PCS and metal traditionally sustained rates of reverse GSNO application confirm the detoxification of ROS induced by toxic metal rates in soybean.

Cowpea(Vigna unguiculata L. Walp) has excellent physical properties and texture of starch, so it is mainly used in various ways for songpyeon sediment, rice-cake paste, and porridge. To utilize it as various processed products such as songpyeon sediment and cowpea milk, 'Okhyun', which has green cotyledons and black seed coats and can be harvested by combine was developed. A cowpea variety 'Okhyun' was improved from the cross between IT145379 and IT208081 at the JARES in 2022. 'Okhyun' has an erect plant with an intermediate plant habit, a light purple-colored corolla, and heart-shaped leaflets. 'Okhyun' has green cotyledons and black seed coats, and has straight black brown pods when mature. The stem length of 'Okhyun' is 47cm, and the weight of 100-seed weight was 12.9g, which was lower than the control variety 'Okdang'(16.6g). 'Okhyun' contains 25.8mg/100g of anthocyanin, 279mg/100g of total polyphenols, and 335mg/100g of total flavonoids, respectively. The average yield of 'Okhyun' was 1.97ton per hectare, 11% higher than that of the control cultivar 'Okdang'. 'Okhyun'' does not require the installation of an espalier-net net, so it is possible to harvest with a combine. In addition, 'Okhyun' variety with green cotyledons and a black seed coat is expected to contribute to developing regional specialties and various processed products.

Salinity is a major abiotic stress that limits rice productivity in many regions of the world. In order to develop salt stress tolerant rice plants, genetic engineering is a promising approach. We characterized the molecular function of rice C3H2C3 as a really interesting new gene (RING). Oryza sativa RING finger protein H2-3 (OsRFPH2-3) was highly expressed in 100 mM NaCl. To identify the localization of OsRFPH2-3, we fused vectors that include C-terminal GFP protein (35S;;OsRFPH2-3-GFP). OsRFPH2-3 was expressed in the nucleus in rice protoplasts. An in vitro ubiquitin assay demonstrated that OsRFPH2-3 possessed E3-ubiquitin ligase activity. However, the mutated OsRFPH2-3 were not possessed any E3-ubiquitin ligase activity. Under salinity conditions, OsRFPH2-3-overexpressing plants exhibited higher chlorophyll, proline, SOD, POD, CAT, and soluble sugar contents and lower H₂O₂ accumulation than wild-type plants, supporting transgenic plants with enhanced salinity tolerance phenotypes. OsRFPH2-3-overexpressing plants exhibited low Na+ accumulation and Na+/K+ ratios in their roots. Theses results suggest that overexpression of OsRFPH2-3 can make plant insensitivity about salinity conditions.

Pre-harvest sprouting (PHS) in rice (Oryza sativa L.) is one of the main problems associated with seed dormancy. PHS causes yield loss and reduction of grain quality under unpredictable humid conditions at the ripening stage, thus affecting the economic value of the rice crop. To resolve this issue, it is important to understand the molecular mechanism underlying seed dormancy in rice. Recent studies have shown that seed dormancy is affected by a large number of genes associated with plant hormones. However, the effect of heat stress on seed dormancy and plant hormones is not well understood. In this study, we compared the PHS rate as well as the transcriptome and small RNAome of the seed embryo and endosperm of two different accessions of rice, PHS-susceptible rice (low dormancy) and PHS-resistant rice (high dormancy) under three different maturation stages. We identified and verified the candidate genes associated with seed dormancy and heat stress-related responses in rice using quantitative real-time PCR. We newly discovered hormone-related genes, heat shock protein-related genes, and miRNAs potentially involved in PHS. These findings provide a foundation for understanding the dynamics of transcriptome and small RNAome of hormone- and heat stress-related genes, which affect PHS during seed maturation.