Wheat Production Transition Towards Digital Agriculture Technologies: A Review

Abstract

Digital agriculture technologies provide potential for increased yield and quality of wheat grain with an optimized input use related to site-specific conditions. This review aims to present the global distribution of digitalization in wheat production, to identify the core digital technologies applied in wheat management, and to address challenges and future directions for ensuring the security of producing this staple food. For this purpose, a systematic literature review based on the PRISMA 2020 guidelines was conducted, and 113 peer-reviewed papers within the period of 2015–2025 were selected and examined. The highest number of research papers refers to Asia (37.4%), followed by Europe (17.4%) and North America (15.7%). The majority of the papers related to the field of remote sensing, more specifically, in 40.2% of the papers, satellites are listed as a platform, followed by UAVs (in 33.0% of studies). The review reveals uneven global distribution of digitalization, with a significant need for improvement in less developed countries to address food safety in a more balanced way. This comprehensive analysis proposes integration of the current state of digitalizing wheat production with future opportunities for large, but moreover, for small and medium farmers, along with strong support for the policies.