Soybean is one of the most important oil crops, and Argentina is the third-largest soybean producer in the world, accounting for 17% of the global soybean yield. Timely and accurate information on soybean spatial distribution is critical for ensuring global food security. Sentinel-2 multispectral data and machine learning classification models are used to investigate the potential of soybean identification in the early stage of the growing season in Argentina, with the help of Google Earth Engine (GEE). The earliest time window and optimal feature set for soybean identification are explored. Results are as follows: 1) the random forest (RF) classification model demonstrated the highest level of classification accuracy compared to the backpropagation neural network (BPNN), support vector machine (SVM), and naive Bayes (NB) models; 2) Soybean can be accurately identified as early as the end of February (filling stage), which is approximately one month before harvest; 3) The optimal feature-subset can reduce the amount of input data by 80% while maintaining high classification accuracy. The overall accuracy (OA) of the RF classification model is 85.87%, and the relative error between the estimated soybean planting area and the agricultural statistics is 3.45%. This study provided a high-precision method for early-season identification of soybeans over large scales. The results can provide a data support for early futures trading and agricultural insurance, as well as a reference for policy-making to ensure global soybean food security.

The 3-dimensional (3D) modeling of crop canopies is fundamental for studying functional-structural plant models. Existing studies often fail to capture the structural characteristics of crop canopies, such as organ overlapping and resource competition. To address this issue, we propose a 3D maize modeling method based on computational intelligence. An initial 3D maize canopy is created using the t-distribution method to reflect characteristics of the plant architecture. The subsequent model considers the 3D phytomers of maize as intelligent agents. The aim is to maximize the ratio of sunlit leaf area, and by iteratively modifying the azimuth angle of the 3D phytomers, a 3D maize canopy model that maximizes light resource interception can be constructed. Additionally, the method incorporates a reflective approach to optimize the canopy and utilizes a mesh deformation technique for detecting and responding to leaf collisions within the canopy. Six canopy models of 2 varieties plus 3 planting densities was constructed for validation. The average R² of the difference in azimuth angle between adjacent leaves is 0.71, with a canopy coverage error range of 7% to 17%. Another 3D maize canopy model constructed using 12 distinct density gradients demonstrates the proportion of leaves perpendicular to the row direction increases along with the density. The proportion of these leaves steadily increased after 9 × 10⁴ plants ha⁻¹. This study presents a 3D modeling method for the maize canopy. It is a beneficial exploration of swarm intelligence on crops and generates a new way for exploring efficient resources utilization of crop canopies.