Printing technologies for monitoring crop health

Abstract

Agricultural production requires low-cost sensors capable of delivering reliable, high-resolution data across large areas. Rising food demand, limited arable land, and severe soil degradation have accelerated the adoption of precision agriculture, which relies on real-time monitoring of soil, plant, and environmental conditions. Central to this shift is the development of scalable sensor technologies enabled by advances in materials science. Printing techniques, including inkjet, screen, aerosol jet, 3D printing, and direct laser writing, offer versatile routes to fabricate flexible, large-area, and plant-integrated sensors. This Review surveys recent progress in printable low-dimensional materials for agricultural sensing, examines their physicochemical properties in relation to sensor performance, and discusses key challenges and future opportunities requiring interdisciplinary integration.