Evidence Appraisal and Engineering Translation of Ultraviolet Control for Crop Diseases: A Systematic Review

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

Ultraviolet radiation is increasingly used as a controllable physical technology for crop disease management, but inconsistencies in parameter reporting, the validation scale, and engineering evidence hinder cross-study comparisons and practical translation. Following the PRISMA 2020 statement, this systematic review searched the Web of Science Core Collection and IEEE Xplore, screened eligible studies, and conducted full-text data extraction and structured coding. A total of 80 studies were evaluated across four domains: UV treatment parameter reporting, highest validation level, translational maturity, and engineering characteristics of application equipment. The treatment frequency or number of applications and wavelength were explicitly reported in 83.8% and 76.3% of studies, respectively, whereas irradiance and post-treatment light or dark conditions were reported in only 36.3% and 35.0%. In 57.5% of studies, the highest validation level remained limited to in vitro pathogen assays, detached-material experiments, or controlled-environment whole-plant experiments; low and low-medium translational maturity together accounted for 62.5%. Among the 11 equipment-related studies included in this review, the operating speed and target-surface dose calibration were reported more frequently than within-canopy dose uniformity, shading effects, and operational control. UV-based crop disease control is progressing toward field and equipment applications, but incomplete parameter reporting, discontinuities in the production-scale evidence chain, and unstable dose delivery still constrain reproducibility and scale-up. Future research should establish minimum reporting standards, strengthen multi-site and multi-season validation, translate biologically effective doses into equipment operating parameters, and develop closed-loop control based on actual target-surface dose monitoring.