Advances in the Application of Electrostatics in Agriculture: A Review from Macroscale Spray Engineering to...

Electrostatic technology has emerged as a crucial tool for sustainable agricultural development due to its multifunctional characteristics. However, systematic and specialized investigations into its mechanism of action and application principles across diverse agricultural scenarios remain insufficient. Here, this review innovatively constructs a spatial scale classification framework and categorizes it into macroscale spray engineering and microscale plant biostimulation. At the macroscale, electrostatic spraying leverages charged droplets' properties (high surface charge density, strong electrostatic interaction, enhanced adsorption) to improve canopy deposition efficiency and reduce agrochemical drift losses. At the microscale, electrostatic fields induce electron/ion directional movement, providing non-contact stimulation to regulate plant physiological processes such as seed germination and nutrient uptake. We systematically summarize the latest research progress in electrostatic spraying and electrostatic biostimulation, and further compare them in terms of their fundamental mechanisms, targets, and stages of technological development. Finally, the current limitations and challenges for each technology are overviewed and the forward perspective for the efficient application of electrostatics in agriculture are outlined. This review provides theoretical references and technical guidelines for the application research of electrostatic spraying and electrostatic biostimulation, holding significant importance for promoting the standardized development of electrostatic technology in sustainable and precision agriculture.