Sustainable Small Grain Cropping Systems: Circular Economy, Pollution Mitigation, and Farmer-Centric Innovation
A special issue of Agriculture (ISSN 2077-0472). This special issue belongs to the section "Crop Production".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2025 | Viewed by 104
Special Issue Editors
Interests: agronomy; plant pathology; precision agriculture; sustainability; phytochemistry; food science, circular economy, pollution mitigation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: genetics; breeding; cereals; legumes; quality; stresses; climatic change; low inputs
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Farmers’ decision-making lies at the heart of global socio-economic and environmental resilience. With agricultural systems facing mounting pressures due to climate change, resource scarcity, and market volatility, innovative solutions are required to reconcile the agricultural anthropogenic triptych: demand (food security and market needs), the environment (ecological health), and cost-effectiveness (economic viability). Small grains—such as wheat, barley, oats, and rye—play a pivotal role in this balance. When managed sustainably, they offer profitable yields for cash markets and livestock feed, while their straw byproducts are indispensable in animal production and soil health. However, achieving this potential requires a paradigm shift, integrating circular economy principles, minimizing pollution, and prioritizing the production of healthier, low-impact agricultural products.
For this Special Issue, we welcome groundbreaking research that will advance sustainable small-grain cropping systems, fostering a transition from conventional practices to holistic, environmentally conscious strategies. We invite contributions that address the following themes:
- Climate-smart and low-input practices;
- Healthier products and ecosystems;
- Integration of the circular economy into cropping systems;
- Farmer-centric decision-making and technology;
- Genomic innovations to enhance ecological sustainability;
- Pollution mitigation and climate resilience.
Dr. Dimitrios Katsantonis
Dr. Ioannis G. Mylonas
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Agriculture is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- small-grain systems
- climate resilience
- soil and plant health
- food safety
- precision farming
- agroecological practices
- sustainable agriculture
- circular economy
- pollution mitigation
- waste valorization
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