Smoke generator for protected agriculture: research progress, key challenges, and future perspectives

Smoke generator constitute an important class of pesticide formulations widely used in protected agriculture, forestry, mushroom cultivation, and storage environments. Unlike conventional sprays, smoke generator rely on heat-induced phase transitions of active ingredients to produce fine aerosolized particles that disperse through Brownian motion, thereby markedly improving application efficiency. Despite their long history and broad utility, the development of smoke generator has largely stagnated over the past two decades. Here, we provide a comprehensive assessment of their historical evolution, registration landscape, physicochemical mechanisms, and current deployment in agricultural systems. Based on this analysis, we outline key directions for next-generation smoke generator technology. First, transitioning from chemical heating to electric heating is essential to enable automation and unmanned pesticide delivery. Second, expanding the air-purification functionality of smoke formulations offers a promising strategy to suppress airborne pest and pathogen populations. Finally, integrating principles of crystal engineering to modulate particle morphology and interfacial affinity may overcome current limitations in deposition efficiency and biological performance. Together, these advances will underpin the development of high-efficiency, intelligent smoke generator and support precision plant protection and sustainable intensification in protected agriculture.