Horticulturae Exceptional Reviewers List 2025

We are thrilled to share an updated version of the Exceptional Reviewers List 2025. This program was designed to recognize scholars who have delivered consistently exceptional review reports to our journal. Committed to fostering rigorous research and promoting the exchange of knowledge, Horticulturae (ISSN: 2311-7524) acknowledges the significant role our reviewers play in maintaining the quality and integrity of the articles that we publish. According to surveys conducted in 2024, 92% of our authors rate the journal’s peer reviews as good or excellent, thanks to our pool of dedicated reviewers.

We would like to express our appreciation to all the reviewers who have generously volunteered their time and expertise to assist in Horticulturae’s peer-review process. Their commitment and attention to detail in evaluating manuscripts, offering important feedback, and contributing to academic rigor are truly commendable.

The Exceptional Reviewers List was introduced in November 2024. Every quarter, we will select a group of outstanding reviewers and announce them here.

Name: Dr. Jinxiu Song
Affiliation: School of Agricultural Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China
Interests: plant factory; horticultural environment; agricultural engineering

Name: Dr. Guillermo Castillo
Affiliation: Facultad de Enología y Gastronomía, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, Carretera Transpeninsular Ensenada-Tijuana 3917, Colonia Playitas Ensenada 22860, Baja California, Mexico
Interests: vitis; viticulture; genetics; wine; physiology

Name: Dr. Zenzile Khetsha
Affiliation: Department of Agriculture, Faculty of Health and Environmental Sciences, Central University of Technology, Free State, Bloemfontein 9301, South Africa
Interests: plant production; agricultural production; management and techniques

Name: Dr. Marija Polić Pasković
Affiliation: Department of Agriculture and Nutrition, Institute of Agriculture and Tourism, Karla Huguesa 8, 52440 Poreč, Croatia
Interests: agriculture; entomology; phytomedicine; olive; plant nutrition; sustainable production

Name: Dr. Guillermo Raúl Pratta
Affiliation: Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencias Agrarias de Rosario (IICAR), Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Universidad Nacional de Rosario (UNR), Zavalla 2125, Argentina
Interests: tomato; banana; plant genetics and breeding; biostatistics; agrobioinformatics; big data in agriculture; OGM and NBT regulation

Name: Dr. Harlene Hatterman-Valenti
Affiliation: Department of Plant Sciences, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND 58108, USA Interests: viticulture; functional foods; small fruit and vegetable production; hybridization

Name: Dr. Nay Myo Win
Affiliation: Apple Research Center, National Institute of Horticultural and Herbal Sciences, Rural Development Administration, Gunwi-gun, Daegu 43100, Republic of Korea
Interests: smart farming; cultivation technology; horticultural machinery; plant physiology; crop production; plant nutrients; bioactive compounds; post-harvest technology; fruit quality

See what our reviewers have to say about Horticulturae’s review process:

“I support the reviewing process of MDPI because it is pragmatic, quick, easy to achieve. Publication and reviewers’ work is highly recognized.”–Dr. Guillermo Raúl Pratta

“I believe that manuscript review is an important professional responsibility because peer review protects the integrity and usefulness of horticultural science. As an applied discipline, the published research must be accurate, practical, and clearly communicated and careful review helps to ensure that experiments are well designed, conclusions are supported by evidence, and recommendations are realistic for real-world production. Peer review is a collaborative process that strengthens both the authors and the reviewer and ultimately the discipline. Reviewing helps me stay engaged with emerging research, identify new directions in the field, and constructive feedback helps the authors improve clarity, rigor, and relevance, ultimately advancing knowledge that benefits specialty crop systems and horticultural education. Participating in peer review is part of sustaining a strong scientific community and a reliable body of research that future scientists, students, and growers will depend on.”–Dr. Harlene Hatterman-Valenti

Name: Prof. Dr. José De Jesús Ornelas-Paz
Affiliation: Centro de Investigación en Alimentación y Desarrollo A.C.-Unidad Cuauhtémoc, Mexico
Interests: post-harvest technologies; fruit preservation; bioactive compounds and nutrients in food; the use of agro-industrial waste; horticulture
“Reviewing for Horticulturae has been a great experience. It keeps me updated on current research trends. The reviewing process is both fast and rigorous, yet constructive. Horticulturae is an excellent journal for disseminating your research across various lines of horticulture.”

Name: Dr. Bo Zhu
Affiliation: College of Life Sciences, Anhui Normal University, China
Interests: plant physiology; viticulture; pomology; stress physiology; transgenic plant; gene analysis

Name: Dr. Mekhala Dinushi Kananke Vithana
Affiliation: School of Science, Edith Cowan University, Australia
Interests: regulation of the levels of health promoting compounds in fruit and vegetables; value addition to underutilised horticultural produce; increasing shelf life of fresh horticultural produce

Name: Dr. Jae Hwan Lee
Affiliation: Department of Environmental Horticulture, Graduate School, Sahmyook University, Republic of Korea
Interests: abiotic stress response; chlorophyll fluorescence; controlled environment agriculture; plant physiology
“Peer review is a service to our community. I aim to provide constructive, transparent, and timely feedback that strengthens scientific rigor and helps authors communicate their work clearly.”

Name: Dr. Marcelo Francisco Pompelli
Affiliation: Department of Botany, Federal University of Pernambuco, Brazil
Interests: plant stresses; metabolome; plant anatomy; seed germination; leaf area estimation; bioenergy
“As a reviewer, I aim to provide rigorous, fair and constructive evaluations that strengthen manuscripts and support authors, contributing to high-quality and ethical science in a leading journal like the Horticulturae – MDPI.”

Name: Dr. Florin Dumitru Bora
Affiliations: ¹ Viticulture and Oenology Department, Advanced Horticultural Research Institute of Transylvania, Faculty of Horticulture and Business in Rural Development, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine Cluj-Napoca, Romania; ²Laboratory of Chromatography, Advanced Horticultural Research Institute of Transylvania, Faculty of Horticulture and Business for Rural Development, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, Romania
Interests: organic viticulture; grape and wine quality; heavy metal contamination; pesticide residues; environmental pollutants soil and plant analysis; food safety in wine production; analytical chemistry in viticulture
“I appreciate the Editors’ trust and recognition of my review work, and I remain fully available to support and further develop our academic collaboration with Horticulturae and MDPI.”

Name: Dr. Deyvid Novaes Marques
Affiliation: Department of Genetics, Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture (ESALQ), University of São Paulo (USP), Brazil
Interests: antioxidants; plants; agriculture; plant physiology; biochemistry; stresses; heavy metals; genetics; molecular biology; omics; abiotic stresses; environmental stresses; cadmium; horticulture; crops

Name: Dr. Edward Alexander Espinoza-Sánchez
Affiliation: Laboratorio de Biotecnología I, Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Universidad Autónoma de Chihuahua, Mexico
Interests: agricultural crops; pest control; plant diseases; antioxidants; biochemistry

Name: Prof. Dr. Gilberto Sachetto-Martins
Affiliation: Departamento de Genética, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Interests: plant molecular biology

Name: Dr. Simone Treccarichi
Affiliation: Dipartimento di Agricoltura, Alimentazione ed Ambiente (Di3A), University of Catania (UNICT), Italy
Interests: agriculture; horticultural science; sustainable development

Name: Dr. Zhizhong Zhang
Affiliation: Joint FAFU-Dalhousie Lab, College of Horticulture, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, China
Interests: vegetable crops; Cucurbits; plant virus; plant diseases; stress resistance

Name: Prof. Dr. Guillermo Berumen-Varela
Affiliation: Unidad de Tecnología de Alimentos-Secretaría de Investigación y Posgrado, Universidad Autónoma de Nayarit, Mexico
Interests: functional genomics; molecular biology; tropical fruits; postharvest biology; fruit ripening

Name: Prof. Dr. Kaibing Zhou
Affiliation: School of Tropical Agriculture and Forestry, Hainan University, China
Interests: tropical fruit breeding; tropical orchards; fruit systems; fruit postharvest

Name: Dr. Chang Shu
Affiliation: Food Science and Engineering College, Beijing University of Agriculture, China
Interests: food science; shelf life; active packaging; encapsulation; postharvest preservation

Name: Dr. Sérgio Heitor Sousa Felipe
Affiliation: Postgraduate Program in Agricultural Sciences, Tissue Culture Laboratory, State University of Maranhão, Brazil
Interests: seed; medicinal plants; plant physiology; plant tissue culture; secondary metabolism

Name: Dr. Qiang Zhang
Affiliation: Zhengzhou Fruit Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, China
Interests: fruit quality; postharvest processing; storage; biochemistry

Name: Prof. Dr. Aurel Maxim
Affiliation: Department of Engineering and Environmental Protection, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, Romania
Interests: agroecology; preservation of agrobiodiversity; plant protection

Name: Dr. Zofia Zydlik
Affiliation: Department of Ornamental Plant, Dendrology and Pomology, Faculty of Agronomy, Horticulture and Bioengineering, Poznan University of Life Sciences, Poland
Interests: pomology; plant nursery; strawberry; fruit yield and quality; biostimulants

Name: Dr. Miroslav Šlosár
Affiliation: Institute of Horticulture, Faculty of Horticulture and Landscape Engineering, Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra, Slovakia
Interests: vegetable cultivation; yield; quality; agronomic and nutritional parameters; biostimulants

Name: Dr. Piotr Zydlik
Affiliation: Department of Entomology and Environment Protection, Faculty of Agronomy
Horticulture and Biotechnology, Poznań University of Life Sciences, Poland
Interests: replantation; fruit and berry; stress condition; fruit quality; biostimulants