We welcome you to the 18th meeting of the EUCARPIA Biometrics in Plant Breeding, organized by the GQE-Le Moulon Research Unit (INRAE, Paris-Saclay University, CNRS and AgroParisTech), which will take place from 21 to 23 September 2022 in Paris-Saclay University Campus, France. More information and a preliminary program will be available soon. Below is a first glimpse into the main scientific topics of the meeting:

• Gene–environment interaction and crop growth modeling;
• Multi-omics data integration;
• Deep learning;
• Non-additive genetic effects;
• Diversity management;
• High-throughput phenotyping.

Leading scientists in all these areas have been invited to present inspiring lectures. We also welcome contributions from participants on these topics. The meeting will provide great opportunities for discussions with leading experts and to meet researchers and breeders from a variety of companies and research institutes. The conference will be preceded by the Satellite Workshop on Phenomic Selection, which will also be held at ENS Paris-Saclay.

For more information, you can access the conference website at the following link: https://eucarpiabiom22.sciencesconf.org.

We look forward to seeing you in France in September 2022!

Seminar name: Joint Seminar of the FAO CIHEAM Networks on Pasture and Forage Crops and on Sheep and Goat Nutrition
Date: 27–29 September 2022
Place: Catania, Italy
Link: https://faociheam2022.org/

The Mediterranean Basin is highly affected by climate change, while certain countries still need to increase livestock production in order to achieve food self-sufficiency. Producing better is an urgent issue.

In this respect, ruminants have an asset: they can be fed on plants, plant parts, and agroindustrial byproducts that are not directly recoverable for humans.

Mediterranean landscapes are composed of an agro-silvo-pastoral mosaic, which offers opportunities for interactions between livestock production, agriculture, and natural areas. Mediterranean grasslands are an important source of forage; cultivated forage, possibly associated with perennial or annual crops, provides high-quality feed for periods of high nutrient requirements; agroindustry produces a variety of typical byproducts which may be included in ruminant diets.

This joint seminar on ruminant nutrition and Mediterranean pastures and forage crops subnetworks aims at exploring various opportunities in terms of novel or underexploited local feed resources, which could be valued better in the future and used to secure small ruminant feeding systems and boost animal production. Joining these two subnetworks gives the opportunity to consider the question from two complementary points of view, thus encouraging system approaches.

The 2021 citation metrics have been released in the Journal Citation Reports (JCR), and we’re pleased to announce the following results for MDPI journals:

For more information on Impact Factors and what it means to index academic journals, please visit our related blog posts.

* Journals given their first Impact Factor in 2022

Source: 2021 Journal Impact Factors, Journal Citation Reports ^TM (Clarivate, 2022)

The 15th International Conference on Precision Agriculture will highlight significant research and applications in precision agriculture and showcase emerging technologies and information management for agriculture. Oral and poster presentations and exhibits will be taking place to foster discussion and the exchange of the latest findings in precision agriculture. Sessions will present information on key topics for scientists, crop consultants, advisors, extension personnel, agronomists, producers, and other practitioners.

The ISPA aims to:

• Organize and conduct international conferences related to precision agriculture, such as the International Conference on Precision Agriculture, European Conference on Precision Agriculture, and other related events;
• Develop and maintain a web portal to communicate the latest developments in precision agriculture;
• Maintain a member list server to connect with society members;
• Publish regular ISPA e-newsletters for members and other subscribers;
• Provide members with opportunities for publication of original scientific research in the society’s sponsored, peer-reviewed journal (International Journal of Precision Agriculture).

We look forward to seeing you in Minneapolis from 26 to 29 June 2022!

Social Media Handles:
Twitter: @IntoSoPA
LinkedIn: International Society of Precision Agriculture (ISPA)

The 2021 citation metrics have been officially released in Scopus!

We are pleased to announce that 182 MDPI journals are included, of which:

● 21 journals received their first CiteScore.
● 85% of journals increased their CiteScore from 2020.
● 155 journals (85%) ranked above average, in at least one category.

The following 65 MDPI journals (36%) ranked among the top 25% of journals, in at least one category:

Source: 2021 CiteScores™ (Elsevier)

In order to acknowledge our reviewers, who so generously dedicate their time to reviewing papers and demonstrate diligence, professionalism, and timeliness when reviewing manuscripts, MDPI journals regularly offer outstanding reviewer awards to scholars who participate in the peer-review process.

We are proud to recognize winners for the year 2021 in the “Biology & Life Sciences” category for their outstanding contributions among extensive competition by presenting them with an Outstanding Reviewer Award.

We would like to take this opportunity to congratulate all the winners on their achievement.

MDPI will continue to provide support and recognition to the academic community.

Biology:

• Enrico Vito Perrino, CIHEAM, Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Bari, Italy
• Dhirendra Kumar, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, USA
• Carlos A. Viegas, Univesity of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, Portugal
• Yuri Shavrukov, Flinders University, Australia
• Bipin Gaihre, Mayo Clinic, USA

Brain Sciences:

• Craig D. Workman, University of Iowa, USA
• Vivian Ciaramitaro, University of Massachusetts Boston, USA
• Yang Zhang, University of Minnesota, USA

Cells:

• Bonam Srinivasa Reddy, Université de Paris, France
• Homma Takujiro, Yamagata University, Japan
• Hwang, In Koo, Seoul National University, South Korea
• Kobeissy Firas, University of Florida, USA
• Rebelo, Sandra, University of Aveiro, Portugal

Diversity:

• Günter Gollmann, University of Vienna, Austria
• Stephan Koblmüller, University of Graz, Austria
• Emiliano Mori, Istituto di Ricerca sugli Ecosistemi Terrestri, Italy

Horticulturae:

• Joshua D. Klein, Agricultural Research Organization—The Volcani Center, Israel
• Ana Cristina S Figueiredo, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal

Insects:

• Carmelo Peter Bonsignore, Università Mediterranea di Reggio Calabria, Italy
• Klaus H. Hoffmann, University of Bayreuth, Germany
• Ivan Milosavljević, University of California, USA

Metabolites:

• Remigiusz Bachor, University of Wrocław, Poland
• Nguyen Phuoc Long, Inje University College of Medicine, South Korea
• Chi Chen, University of Minnesota, USA

Nutrients:

• Jadwiga Hamułka, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, Poland
• Grace Campbell, University of Sydney, Australia
• Nicholas Norwitz, Harvard Medical School, USA
• Stefan Kabisch, Charité University Hospital Berlin, Germany
• Luis Rodrigo, University of Oviedo, Spain

Veterinary Sciences:

• Carlos Viegas, Univesity of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, Portugal
• Arvind Sharma, The University of Queensland, Australia

MDPI’s Young Investigator Awards recognize promising junior researchers, acknowledge their contributions, and enhance communication among scientists. We are proud to present the 2021 winners in the “Biology & Life Sciences” category. The winners were selected by the journals’ editors.

We warmly congratulate the awarded young investigators for their outstanding contributions.

MDPI will continue to provide support and recognition to the academic community.

Agriculture:

• Carlos Guzmán, University of Cordoba, Spain

Animals:

• Katharina Hohlbaum, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany

Cells:

• Uri Ben-David, Tel Aviv University, Israel

Diversity:

• Enrico Lunghi, Institute of Zoology Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, China

Foods:

• Guodong Zhang, University of Massachusetts Amherst, USA

Horticulturae:

• Luke Bell, Temperate Horticulture, University of Reading, UK

International Journal of Molecular Sciences:

• Alessandro D’Urso, University of Catania, Italy.
• Apostolos Zaravinos, University of Cyprus, Cyprus
• Cesar de la Fuente-Nunez, University of Pennsylvania, USA
• Maria Teresa Caccamo, Messina University, Italy
• Tiziana Bonifacino, University of Genoa, Italy

Journal of Fungi:

• Federico Baltar, University of Vienna, Austria
• Rebecca Drummond, University of Birmingham, UK
• Miriam Oses-Ruiz, Public University of Navarre, Spain

Life:

• João Pedro da Silva Machado Lobo, University of Porto, Portugal
• Vincenzo Russo, University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, Italy

Metabolites:

• Gabriele Rocchetti, Catholic University of Sacred Heart, Italy

Nutrients:

• Fiona Lavelle, Queen's University Belfast, UK
• Matthew Snelson, Monash University, Australia

Pathogens:

• Si Ming Man, Australian National University, Australia
• Jasper Fuk-Woo Chan, University of Hong Kong, China

Plants:

• Stefania Sut, University of Padova, Italy
• Mohamed Ahmed El-Esawi, Tanta University, Tanta, Egypt

Vaccines:

• Nicholas M. Provine, University of Oxford, UK

Viruses:

• Nicholas S. Heaton, Duke University, USA

We are proud to recognize the winners of MDPI’s 2021 Travel Awards in the “Biology & Life Sciences” category for their outstanding presentations and to present them with the prize.

MDPI journals regularly offer travel awards to encourage talented junior scientists to present their latest research at academic conferences in specific fields, which helps to increase their influence.

The winners mentioned below were carefully selected by the journal editors based on an outline of their research and the work to be presented at an academic conference.

We would like to warmly congratulate the winners of 2021 Travel Awards and wish them the greatest success with their future research endeavors. MDPI will continue to enhance communication among scientists.

Agriculture:

• Zahra Bitarafan, Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research (NIBIO), Norway
• Nikolaos Tsoulias, Leibniz Institute for Agricultural Engineering and Bioeconomy (ATB), Germany

Fermentation:

• Michela Verni, University of Bari, Italy
• Philipp Demling, RWTH Aachen University, Germany

Horticulturae:

• Jagveer Singh, Punjab Agricultural University, India
• Ibrar Hussain, State University of Londrina, Brazil

Microorganisms:

• Francis Muchaamba, University of Zurich, Switzerland

Methods and Protocols:

• Tanja Eisemann, SBP Medical Discovery Institute, USA

Nutrients:

• Mrinalini Dey, National Institute for Health Research, UK
• Ben Kirk, University of Melbourne, Australia
• Kirrilly Pursey, University of Newcastle, Australia
• Dieuwertje Kok, Wageningen University, the Netherlands
• Hanna Huber, University of Bonn, Germany
• Marlene Lages, University of Porto, Portugal
• Zohra S. Lassi, University of Adelaide, Australia
• Rik Olde Engberink, Amsterdam University Medicial Center, the Netherlands
• Sarah Warkentin, University of Porto (ISPUP), Portugal
• Álvaro Hernáez, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Norway
• Leila Abdelhamid, Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, Virginia Tech, USA
• Maria Michela Cesare, University of Siena, Italy
• Kaisa Hiippala, University of Helsinki, Finland

Pathogens:

• Vanessa Silva, University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro, Portugal
• Hejun Liu, Scripps Research Institute, USA
• Tomokazu Tamura, Princeton University, USA

Toxins:

• Cecilie Knudsen, Technical University of Denmark, Denmark
• Laura Biessy, Cawthron Institute, New Zealand
• Marcelo Mendes Rabelo, University of Florida, USA

Vaccines:

• Hee Chun Chung, Seoul National University, South Korea
• Alejandro Marin Lopez, Yale University, USA

The purpose of our Best Paper Awards is to promote and recognize the most impactful contributions published within MDPI journals.

The editors of each journal carefully selected reviews and research papers through a rigorous judging process based on criteria such as the scientific merit, overall impact, and the quality of presentation of the papers published in the journal last year.

We are honored to present the winners in the subject areas of “Biology & Life Sciences”, who were selected amongst extensive competition, and congratulate the authors for their outstanding scientific publications.

MDPI will continue to provide support and recognition to the academic community.

Animals:

• “Effects of Dietary Betaine on Growth Performance, Digestive Function, Carcass Traitsand Meat Quality in Indigenous Yellow-Feathered Broilers under Long-Term Heat Stress”

by Wenchao Liu, Yilin Yuan, Chenyu Sun, Balamuralikrishnan Balasubramanian, Zhihui Zhao and Lilong An

Animals 2019, 9(8), 506, doi 10.3390/ani9080506

• “The Ethics of Human–Animal Relationships and Public Discourse: A Case Study of Lions Bred for Their Bones”

by Peter Coals, Dawn Burnham, Andrew Loveridge, David W. Macdonald, Michael ’t Sas-Rolfes, Vivienne L. Williams and John A. Vucetich

Animals 2019, 9(2), 52; doi 10.3390/ani9020052

• “The Potential Role of Insects as Feed: A Multi-Perspective Review”

by Giovanni Sogari, Mario Amato, Ilaria Biasato, Silvana Chiesa and Laura Gasco

Animals 2019, 9(4), 119; doi 10.3390/ani9040119

Antibodies:

• “Antibody Structure and Function: The Basis for Engineering Therapeutics”

by Mark L. Chiu; Dennis R. Goulet; Alexey Teplyakov and Gary L. Gilliland

Antibodies 2019, 8(4), 55; doi 10.3390/antib8040055

Antioxidants:

• “Antioxidant and Anti-Inflammatory Activities of Flavanones from Glycyrrhiza glabra L. (licorice) Leaf Phytocomplexes: Identification of Licoflavanone as a Modulator of NF-kB/MAPK Pathway”

by Luca Frattaruolo, Gabriele Carullo, Matteo Brindisi, Sarah Mazzotta, Luca Bellissimo, Vittoria Rago, Rosita Curcio, Vincenza Dolce, Francesca Aiello and Anna Rita Cappello

Antioxidants 2019, 8(6), 186; doi 10.3390/antiox8060186

• “LC-ESI-QTOF/MS Characterisation of Phenolic Acids and Flavonoids in Polyphenol-Rich Fruits and Vegetables and Their Potential Antioxidant Activities”

by Chunhe Gu, Kate Howell, Frank R. Dunshea and Hafiz A. R. Suleria

Antioxidants 2019, 8(9), 405; doi 10.3390/antiox8090405

• “Nutritional Value, Chemical Composition and Cytotoxic Properties of Common Purslane (Portulaca oleracea L.) in Relation to Harvesting Stage and Plant Part”

by Spyridon A. Petropoulos, Ângela Fernandes, Maria Inês Dias, Ioannis B. Vasilakoglou, Konstantinos Petrotos, Lillian Barros and Isabel C. F. R. Ferreira

Antioxidants 2019, 8(8), 293; doi 10.3390/antiox8080293

• “A Comprehensive Review on Lipid Oxidation in Meat and Meat Products”

by Rubén Domínguez, Mirian Pateiro, Mohammed Gagaoua, Francisco J. Barba, Wangang Zhang and José M. Lorenzo

Antioxidants 2019, 8(10), 429; doi 10.3390/antiox8100429

Biology:

• “The Mammalian Circadian Timing System and the Suprachiasmatic Nucleus as Its Pacemaker”

by Michael H. Hastings, Elizabeth S. Maywood and Marco Brancaccio

Biology 2019, 8(1), 13; doi 10.3390/biology8010013

• “Combined Effects of Acute Temperature Change and Elevated pCO₂ on the Metabolic Rates and Hypoxia Tolerances of Clearnose Skate (Rostaraja eglanteria), Summer Flounder (Paralichthys dentatus), and Thorny Skate (Amblyraja radiata)”

by Gail D. Schwieterman, Daniel P. Crear, Brooke N. Anderson, Danielle R. Lavoie, James A. Sulikowski, Peter G. Bushnell and Richard W. Brill

Biology 2019, 8(3), 56; doi 10.3390/biology8030056

Biomolecules:

• “Flagella-Driven Motility of Bacteria”

by Shuichi Nakamura and Tohru Minamino

Biomolecules 2019, 9(7), 279; doi 10.3390/biom9070279

• “Systematic FTIR Spectroscopy Study of the Secondary Structure Changes in Human Serum Albumin under Various Denaturation Conditions”

by Dmitrii Usoltsev, Vera Sitnikovaandrey Kajava and Mayya Uspenskaya

Biomolecules 2019, 9(8), 359; doi 10.3390/biom9080359

• “Quantification of Fecal Short Chain Fatty Acids by Liquid Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometry—Investigation of Pre-Analytic Stability”

by Gerhard Liebisch, Josef Ecker, Sebastian Roth, Sabine Schweizer, Veronika Öttl, Hans-Frieder Schött, Hongsup Yoon, Dirk Haller, Ernst Holler, Ralph Burkhardt and Silke Matysik

Biomolecules 2019, 9(4), 121; doi 10.3390/biom9040121

• “Cytotoxicity of Dendrimers”

by Anna Janaszewska, Joanna Lazniewska, Przemysław Trzepiński, Monika Marcinkowska and Barbara Klajnert-Maculewicz

Biomolecules 2019, 9(8), 330; doi 10.3390/biom9080330

Cells:

• “Combined Inhibition of TGF-β Signaling and the PD-L1 Immune Checkpoint Is Differentially Effective in Tumor Models”

by Heng Sheng Sow, Jiang Ren, Marcel Camps, Ferry Ossendorp and Peter ten Dijke

Cells 2019, 8(4), 320; doi 10.3390/cells8040320

• “Exosome Treatment Enhances Anti-Inflammatory M2 Macrophages and Reduces Inflammation-Induced Pyroptosis in Doxorubicin-Induced Cardiomyopathy”

by Dinender K. Singla, Taylor A. Johnson and Zahra Tavakoli Dargani

Cells 2019, 8(10), 1224; doi 10.3390/cells8101224

• “Overview of Extracellular Vesicles, Their Origin, Composition, Purpose, and Methods for Exosome Isolation and Analysis”

by Laura M. Doyle and Michael Zhuo Wang

Cells 2019, 8(7), 727; doi 10.3390/cells8070727

• “Mesenchymal Stem Cells for Regenerative Medicine”

by Yu Han, Xuezhou Li, Yanbo Zhang, Yuping Han, Fei Chang and Jianxun Ding

Cells 2019, 8(8), 886; doi 10.3390/cells8080886

Genes:

• “A High-Quality De novo Genome Assembly from a Single Mosquito Using PacBio Sequencing”

by Sarah B. Kingan, Haynes Heaton, Juliana Cudini, Christine C. Lambert, Primo Baybayan, Brendan D. Galvin, Richard Durbin, Jonas Korlach and Mara K. N. Lawniczak

Genes 2019, 10(1), 62; doi 10.3390/genes10010062

• “Eukaryotic 5-methylcytosine (m⁵C) RNA Methyltransferases: Mechanisms, Cellular Functions, and Links to Disease”

by Katherine E Bohnsack, Claudia Höbartner and Markus T Bohnsack

Genes 2019, 10(2), 102; doi 10.3390/genes10020102

• “Tree Lab: Portable Genomics for Early Detection of Plant Viruses and Pests in Sub-Saharan Africa”

by Laura M. Boykin, Peter Sseruwagi, Titus Alicai, Elijah Ateka, Ibrahim Umar Mohammed, Jo-Ann L. Stanton, Charles Kayuki, Deogratius Mark, Tarcisius Fute, Joel Erasto, Hilda Bachwenkizi, Brenda Muga, Naomi Mumo, Jenniffer Mwangi, Phillip Abidrabo, Geoffrey Okao-Okuja, Geresemu Omuut, Jacinta Akol, Hellen B. Apio, Francis Osingada, Monica A. Kehoe, David Eccles, Anders Savill, Stephen Lamb, Tonny Kinene, Christopher B. Rawle, Abishek Muralidhar, Kirsty Mayall, Fred Tairo and Joseph Ndunguru

Genes 2019, 10(9), 632; doi 10.3390/genes10090632

• “Transcription Factors Associated with Abiotic and Biotic Stress Tolerance and Their Potential for Crops Improvement”

by Elamin Hafiz Baillo, Roy Njoroge Kimotho, Zhengbin Zhang and Ping Xu

Genes 2019, 10(10), 771; doi 10.3390/genes10100771

Horticulturae:

• “Recent Advances in Hormonal Regulation and Cross-Talk during Non-Climacteric Fruit Development and Ripening”

by Lida Fuentes, Carlos R. Figueroa and Monika Valdenegro

Horticulturae 2019, 5(2), 45; doi 10.3390/horticulturae5020045

• “Evaluation of Two Wild Populations of Hedge Mustard (Sisymbrium officinale (L.) Scop.) as a Potential Leafy Vegetable”

by Marta Guarise, Gigliola Borgonovo, Angela Bassoli and Antonio Ferrante

Horticulturae 2019, 5(1), 13; doi 10.3390/horticulturae5010013

Insects:

• “Olfactory Preference of Drosophila suzukii Shifts between Fruit and Fermentation Cues over the Season: Effects of Physiological Status”

by Rik Clymans, Vincent Van Kerckvoorde, Eva Bangels, Wannes Akkermans, Ammar Alhmedi, Patrick De Clercq, Tim Beliën and Dany bylemans

Insects 2019, 10(7), 200; doi 10.3390/insects10070200

• “Telenomus remus, a Candidate Parasitoid for the Biological Control of Spodoptera frugiperda in Africa, is already Present on the Continent”

by Marc Kenis, Hannalene du Plessis, Johnnie Van den Berg, Malick Niango Ba, Georg Goergen, Koffi Eric Kwadjo, Ibrahim Baoua, Tadele Tefera, Alan Buddie, Giovanni Cafà, Lisa Offord, Ivan Rwomushana and Andrew Polaszek

Insects 2019, 10(4), 92; doi 10.3390/insects10040092

• “Symbiotic Plant Biomass Decomposition in Fungus-Growing Termites”

by Rafael R. da Costa, Haofu Hu, Hongjie Li and Michael Poulsen

Insects 2019, 10(4), 87; doi 10.3390/insects10040087

International Journal of Molecular Sciences:

• “Aging, Melatonin, and the Pro- and Anti-Inflammatory Networks”

by Rüdiger Hardeland

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2019, 20(5), 1223; doi 10.3390/ijms20051223

• “Causative Links between Protein Aggregation and Oxidative Stress: A Review”

by Elise Lévy, Nadine El Banna, Dorothée Baïlle, Amélie Heneman-Masurel, Sandrine Truchet, Human Rezaei, Meng-Er Huang, Vincent Béringue, Davy Martin and Laurence Vernis

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2019, 20(16), 3896; doi 10.3390/ijms20163896

• “Immunobiology of Atherosclerosis: A Complex Net of Interactions”

by Beatriz Herrero-Fernandez, Raquel Gomez-Bris, Beatriz Somovilla-Crespo and Jose Maria Gonzalez-Granado

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2019, 20(21), 5293; doi 10.3390/ijms20215293

• “Development of a Gut-on-a-Chip Model for High Throughput Disease Modeling and Drug Discovery”

by Claudia Beaurivage, Elena Naumovska, Yee Xiang Chang, Edo D. Elstak, Arnaud Nicolas, Heidi Wouters, Guido van Moolenbroek, Henriëtte L. Lanz, Sebastiaan J. Trietsch, Jos Joore, Paul Vulto, Richard A.J. Janssen, Kai S. Erdmann, Jan Stallen and Dorota Kurek

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2019, 20(22), 5661; doi 10.3390/ijms20225661

• “Triple-Negative Breast Cancer with High Levels of Annexin A1 Expression Is Associated with Mast Cell Infiltration, Inflammationand Angiogenesis”

by Maiko Okano, Masanori Oshi, Ali Linsk Butash, Eriko Katsuta, Kazunoshin Tachibana, Katsuharu Saito, Hirokazu Okayama, Xuan Peng, Li Yan, Koji Kono, Toru Ohtake and Kazuaki Takabe

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2019, 20(17), 4197; doi 10.3390/ijms20174197

• “CGRP Induces Differential Regulation of Cytokines from Satellite Glial Cells in Trigeminal Ganglia and Orofacial Nociception”

by Shaista Afroz, Rieko Arakaki, Takuma Iwasa, Masamitsu Oshima, Maki Hosoki, Miho Inoue, Otto Baba, Yoshihiro Okayama and Yoshizo Matsuka

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2019, 20(3), 711; doi 10.3390/ijms20030711

Life:

• “Characterization of Resistance in Gram-Negative Urinary Isolates Using Existing and Novel Indicators of Clinical Relevance: A 10-Year Data Analysis”

by Márió Gajdács, Zoltán Bátori, Marianna Ábrók, Andrea Lázár and Katalin Burián

Life 2020, 10(2), 16; doi 10.3390/life10020016

• “Neuroprotection or Neurotoxicity of Illicit Drugs on Parkinson’s Disease”

by Carla Ferreira, Catarina Almeida, Sandra Tenreiro and Alexandre Quintas

Life 2020, 10(6), 86; doi 10.3390/life10060086

Nutrients:

• “Gut Microbiome: Profound Implications for Diet and Disease”

by Ronald D. Hills, Benjamin A. Pontefract, Hillary R. Mishcon, Cody A. Black, Steven C. Sutton and Cory R. Theberge

Nutrients 2019, 11(7), 1613; doi 10.3390/nu11071613

• “Vitamin C Can Shorten the Length of Stay in the ICU: A Meta-Analysis”

by Harri Hemilä and Elizabeth Chalker

Nutrients 2019, 11(4), 708; doi 10.3390/nu11040708

• “Early Time-Restricted Feeding Improves 24-Hour Glucose Levels and Affects Markers of the Circadian Clock, Aging, and Autophagy in Humans”

by Humaira Jamshed, Robbie A. Beyl, Deborah L. Della Manna, Eddy S. Yang, Eric Ravussin and Courtney M. Peterson

Nutrients 2019, 11(6), 1234; doi 10.3390/nu11061234

Pathogens:

• “Alteration of Gut Microbiota in Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD): Cause or Consequence? IBD Treatment Targeting the Gut Microbiome”

by Israr Kha, Naeem Ullah, Lajia Zha, Yanrui Bai, Ashiq Khan, Tang Zhao, Tuanjie Che and Chunjiang Zhang

Pathogens 2019, 8(3), 126; doi 10.3390/pathogens8030126

• “Candida albicans Interactions with Mucosal Surfaces during Health and Disease”

by Spyridoula-Angeliki Nikou,Nessim Kichik, Rhys Brown, Nicole O. Ponde, Jemima Ho, Julian R. Naglik and Jonathan P. Richardson

Pathogens 2019, 8(2), 53; doi 10.3390/pathogens8020053

• “Bacteriophages in Natural and Artificial Environments”

by Steven Batinovic, Flavia Wassef, Sarah A. Knowler, Daniel T.F. Rice, Cassandra R. Stanton, Jayson Rose, Joseph Tucci, Tadashi Nittami, Antony Vinh, Grant R. Drummond, Christopher G. Sobey, Hiu Tat Chan, Robert J. Seviour, Steve Petrovski and Ashley E. Franks

Pathogens 2019, 8(3), 100; doi 10.3390/pathogens8030100

Plants:

• “Plant Disease Detection and Classification by Deep Learning”

by Muhammad Hammad Saleem, Johan Potgieter and Khalid Mahmood Arif 

Plants 2019, 8(11), 468; doi 10.3390/plants8110468

• “Involvement of Phenolic Acids in Short-Term Adaptation to Salinity Stress is Species-Specific among Brassicaceae”

by Ida Linić, Dunja Šamec, Jiří Grúz, Valerija Vujčić Bok, Miroslav Strnad and Branka Salopek-Sondi

Plants 2019, 8(6), 155; doi 10.3390/plants8060155

• “Isoform-Specific NO Synthesis by Arabidopsis thaliana Nitrate Reductase”

by Marie Agatha Mohn, Besarta Thaqi and Katrin Fischer-Schrader

Plants 2019, 8(3), 67; doi 10.3390/plants8030067

• “GWAS for Starch-Related Parameters in Japonica Rice (Oryza sativa L.)”

by Chiara Biselliandrea Volante, Francesca Desiderio, Alessandro Tondelli, Alberto Gianinetti, Franca Finocchiaro, Federica Taddei, Laura Gazza, Daniela Sgrulletta, Luigi Cattivelli and Giampiero Valè

Plants 2019, 8(8), 292; doi 10.3390/plants8080292

Dear Colleagues,

Authors are increasingly interested in having their papers published as a cover story in Agronomy (ISSN: 2073-4395). There were a total of 12 cover stories published in 2021. These cover stories reported important research results or innovative methods and presented impressive images. To reward the authors who have published important research results in Agronomy, we are announcing the Agronomy 2021 Best Cover Award.

One cover story will be chosen from the stories published in 2021 and will receive CHF 100.

The criteria that will be considered for selection are as follows:

• Importance, or innovation of the research;
• Quality of the cover image.

The vote will be open from 10 May 2022 to 30 June 2022.

Please cast your vote here https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/PBHWY28.

The winners will be announced on the journal website on 30 June 2022.

Agronomy Editorial Office

We are pleased to announce the 2nd International Electronic Conference on Agronomy (IECAG2022), which will take place from 26 to 28 October 2022. The e-conference format is designed to facilitate the dissemination and discussion of advances in agronomy research and innovation in a post-pandemic environment, where travelling is likely to remain a challenge for many of us.

Scientists working in the agriculture and agronomy fields (from breeding/selection technologies to sustainable soil management, sustainable resilient horticultural production and/or arable farming systems, but also exploring sustainable management of permanent and rotational grassland and weed management, precision and digital agriculture or organic and regenerative farming systems, among other topics) are encouraged to join this event and share their findings with colleagues from all over the world.

Only abstracts will be accepted for the 2nd International Electronic Conference on Agronomy. All accepted abstracts will be available online for discussion during the time of the conference (26–28 October 2022). During the 3-day event, a program for oral presentations will be organized from selected abstracts. After the conference, participants of IECAG2022 are encouraged to contribute with a full manuscript to our Special Issue related to the conference in the journal Agronomy (ISSN: 2073-4395). Full manuscript submissions will undergo the usual process of each journal, including peer review. The conference participants will be granted a 20% discount on the publishing fees. 

Important Dates:

• Abstract submission: 1 July 2022;
• Acceptance notification: 29 July 2022;
• Early bird registration: 2 September 2022;
• Covering author registration: 23 September 2022. 

While our virtual conference will be a different experience from traditional in-person meetings, it will ensure that we (1) can meet irrespective of the COVID-19 situation, (2) allow access for those who for other reasons are unable to travel, and (3) can have a carbon-neutral event. Your presentation will be accessible to researchers around the world and will be more inclusive because of the absence of registration fees and travel costs. Any questions may be addressed to the conference secretariat ([email protected]).

We thank you in advance for attending this conference, and we look forward to a fruitful event. 

IECAG2022 Conference Secretariat

Email: [email protected]

Conference website: https://iecag2022.sciforum.net/

The Agronomy (ISSN 2073-4395) editorial team is pleased to announce the launch of a new Section, “Agroecology Innovation: Achieving System Resilience”. This Section aims to rapidly publish original articles, critical reviews, and short communications in agroecology-related knowledge across all disciplines.

The topics of interest include but are not limited to the following:

• Agroecosystem management;
• Agroecosystem function (including soil health and degradation);
• Agroecosystem biogeochemistry;
• Agroecosystem ecology;
• Agroecosystem processes;
• Agroecosystem services;
• Agricultural systems (including sustainable landscapes and land use);
• Agroecological policies and economics;
• Agroecology environment (including greenhouse gas, climate change);
• Ecological modelling;
• Agrometeorology;
• Agroecosystem biodiversity, agroecosystem conservation and restoration of agricultural plants;
• Crop ecophysiology.

We are currently recruiting Editorial Board Members and Guest Editors for this new Section. If you would like to build a platform to provide the scientific community in your area with the opportunity to work on an interconnected set of papers on an innovative topic(s), please do not hesitate to join us.

To apply for these positions, recommend potential candidates, or request further information, please contact the Agronomy Editorial Office ([email protected]).

We also welcome you to submit related work in our sections: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/agronomy/sections.

Agronomy (ISSN 2073-4395, https://www.mdpi.com/journal/agronomy) is an international, scientific, peer-reviewed, open access journal published monthly online by MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. The journal has been indexed by the Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE: Web of Science), Scopus, PubAg, AGRIS, and many other databases. Citations are available on PubMed; full texts are archived in PubMed Central. Agronomy has a Journal Impact Factor of 3.417, ranking Q2 (“Agronomy and Crop Science”) in the Web of Science.

31 March—First day of the Conference

Managing agriculture with less water and fewer pesticides: the promises of precision agriculture are attractive—but is it a dream or reality? 

Some experts believe it is possible, given that precision agriculture encompasses a set of techniques and practices that rely on the integration of information and communication technologies to observe, monitor, and manage farming activities as well as other links in the supply chain. 

The central feature of precision agriculture is that it is based on the search for agronomic optimization at the level of the cultivated plant (or animal in the case of livestock), notably using new technologies. 

However, other experts argue that while precision farming seeks to optimize its use of water and inputs (with good intentions), it is, in fact, an extension of the logic of so-called “conventional” agriculture, which seeks to treat symptoms rather than restore natural balances at a larger scale. For these experts, agroecological farms generally offer farmers better medium-term economic results than so-called “conventional” farms. This is particularly the case for organic farms at the end of their transition. They, therefore, advocate public impact studies, which are necessary to verify the announced benefits and to measure the environmental and social impacts. 

Faced with an ecological and social emergency, it is necessary to initiate a real transition of systems towards agroecological practices and to take advantage of the know-how of precision agriculture while advocating environmental preservation. 

The first day of the Conference titled “Precision Agriculture for Transition: How to Drastically and Effectively Reduce the Use of Pesticides”, will address precision agriculture and the ecological transition. Experts in the field will debate this issue and identify the best alternatives and solutions for the future. 

1 April—Second day of the Conference

Modern agriculture is facing several major challenges, including how to substantially increase agricultural production by at least 50% by 2050 to feed the growing world population while preserving the environment. In other words, the question remains on how to feed present generations without compromising the future. Given the development of increasingly virulent strains of plant diseases and the resistance of some of these diseases to agrochemicals, it is crucial to develop integrated plant protection strategies for effective and timely phytosanitary treatments to ensure sustainable and profitable farming activities.

The Colloquium “Precision Farming at the Service of Transition” aims at promoting and encouraging scientific debates and sharing of experiences around various themes, including recent scientific and technological research in precision agriculture and the factors involved in adopting these technologies. We should also not forget the use and development of data, which are becoming increasingly numerous and diverse in the digital world, and the various challenges linked to a rapid transition to sustainable digital/precision agriculture.

Presentation and discussion of these topics will undoubtedly allow experts participating in the conference to discuss all of these issues.

On behalf of the International Organization for Biological and Integrated Control of Noxious Animals and Plants, West Palearctic Regional Section (IOBC-WPRS), we are happy to invite you to the next meeting of the Working Group on Integrated Control in Citrus Fruit Crops, which will take place from 4 to 6 April 2022 in Napflio, Greece (http://web.nitlab.inf.uth.gr/iobc_citrus). 

The meeting is co-organized by IRTA, HAO-DEMETER, the University of Thessaly, the Benaki Phytopathological Institute, and the Directorate of Rural Development and Veterinary of Argolida. 

The meeting includes three keynote speakers, invited presentations by prominent scientists in plant pathology, insect biological control, and climatic population modeling (http://web.nitlab.inf.uth.gr/iobc_citrus/index.php/keynote-speakers/#page-content). In addition, the scientific program includes roundtable discussions on hot topics in citrus plant protection, such as new and emerging pests and diseases. The program includes oral and poster presentations that span across the whole continuum of the biological control and integrated pest management of citrus, and it is expected to bring together scientists from Europe, the Mediterranean, and other countries. 

The participation of students is highly supported, with special registration fees. Scientists from African countries may also receive special registration prices (http://web.nitlab.inf.uth.gr/iobc_citrus/index.php/registration-and-fees/#page-content). 

The venue of the meeting will be in the landmark hotel of Amalia Nafplio (https://amalia.gr/amalia-nafplio). There will be special accommodation prices only for participants of the IOBC meeting Working Group on Integrated Control in Citrus Fruit Crops (http://web.nitlab.inf.uth.gr/iobc_citrus/index.php/accommodation/#pagecontent). 

Finally, the Organizing Committee has developed an appealing social program that includes several events and visits to some of the most renowned, ancient ruins of the Peloponnese, such as Mycenae. 

Please note that the deadline for abstract submissions and early registration is on 15 February 2022. Cancellations until 15 March will be refunded 100%, except for EUR 20 of the administration fee. 

We are looking forward to welcoming you in Nafplio. 

Dr. Antonios Avgoustinos—Local Organizing Committee Chairman, [email protected]

Dr. María Teresa Martínez Ferrer—Convenor of the IOBC Working Group Integrated Control in Citrus Fruit Crops, [email protected]

Prof. Dr. Nikolaos Papadopoulos—IOBC-WPRS Liaison Officer, University of Thessaly, Volos, Greece, [email protected]

We are pleased to announce that Prof. Dr. Carlo Leifert has been appointed Editor-in-Chief for the Section “Innovative Cropping Systems” in Agronomy (ISSN 2073-4395). 

The following is a short Q&A with Prof. Dr. Carlo Leifert, who shared his vision for the Section with us, as well as his views of the research area:

1. What appealed to you about the journal that made you want to take the role as its Section Editor-in-Chief?

The opportunity and the ability to support rapid Open Access Publishing of information on Agronomic innovations. Providing rapid free-of-charge access to such information is essential to address the massive challenges for agricultural production and food security.

2. What is your vision for the journal?

To become the leading academic journal for high quality agronomic research focused on reducing the environmental impacts, improving the resilience, resource use efficiency, and maintaining and/or increasing yields of crop production systems in order to provide food security for future generations. To become a principal source of agronomic information for agricultural advisors, agricultural input, technology, and service providers. 

3. What does the future of this field of research look like?

Extremely challenging, given that agronomic research is increasingly driven by the interest and objectives of agricultural input providers, food processors, traders, retailers, and not the interests/needs of farmers and consumers. 

4. What do you think of the development of Open Access in the publishing field?

I think it is essential to provide fair access to information globally and should become the “ethical norm” for the publication of research. The publication fees can be a barrier preventing participation by scientists especially those based in developing countries. This barrier could be effectively lowered by a “fee waiver for excellence” scheme for contributions from academics in developing countries.

We warmly welcome Prof. Dr. Carlo Leifert as the Editor-in-Chief for this Section, and we look forward to him leading Agronomy to achieve many more milestones.

Agronomy Editorial Office

We would like to extend a warm welcome to the following 39 recognized researchers, who recently joined the Editorial Board of Agronomy (ISSN 2073-4395):

Dr. Juliette Bloor—French National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRAE), Université Clermont Auvergne (UCA), France;

Dr. Hongliang Wang—China Agricultural University, China;

Prof. Dr. Jin Zhao—China Agricultural University, China;

Prof. Dr. Di Wu—China Agricultural University, China;

Prof. Dr. Ganghua Li—Nanjing Agricultural University, China;

Prof. Dr. Carlo Leifert—Southern Cross University, Australia;

Dr. Peng Fu—University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA;

Dr. Dimitrios D. Alexakis—Institute for Mediterranean Studies, Foundation for Research and Technology Hellas (FORTH), Greece;

Dr. Michela Janni—Istituto dei Materiali per l’Elettronica e il Magnetismo (IMEM-CNR)–Parco Area delle Scienze, Italy;

Dr. Qi Deng—Chinese Academy of Sciences, China;

Dr. Roberto Marani—Institute of Intelligent Industrial Technologies and Systems for Advanced Manufacturing, National Research Council of Italy, Italy;

Prof. Dr. Shulan Zhang—Northwest A&F University, China;

Prof. Dr. Fuyong Wu—Northwest A&F University, China;

Prof. Dr. Guijun Yang—Ministry of Agriculture of the People's Republic of China, National Engineering Research Center for Information Technology in Agriculture, China;

Prof. Dr. Fenliang Fan—Chinese Academy of Agricultral Science, China;

Dr. Sheng Chen—The University of Western Australia, Australia;

Dr. Hussein Abdel-Haleem—USDA-ARS, US Arid-Land Agricultural Research Center, USA;

Prof. Dr. Pedro A. Aguilera—University of Almería, Spain;

Prof. Dr. Shan Lin—China Agricultural University, China;

Dr. Thomas E. Marler—University of Guam, USA;

Dr. David O'Connor—Royal Agricultural University, UK;

Dr. Sergey Blagodatsky—Institute for Plant Production and Agroecology in the Tropics and Subtropics, Germany;

Dr. Jinyang Wang—Nanjing Agricultural University, China;

Dr. Fatima Maria De Souza Moreira—Universidade Federal de Lavras, Brazil;

Prof. Dr. Aying Zhang—Nanjing Agricultural University, China;

Prof. Dr. Xiaobing Liu—Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China;

Prof. Dr. Marcelo Menossi—University of Campinas, Brazil;

Prof. Dr. Juan Moral—University of Córdoba, Spain;

Dr. Fengjie Sun—Georgia Gwinnett College, Lawrenceville, USA;

Dr. Yash Dang—The University of Queensland, Australia;

Dr. Ilias Travlos—Agricultural University of Athens, Greece;

Prof. Dr. Søren Kjærsgaard Rasmussen—University of Copenhagen, Denmark;

Dr. Martin J Wubben—Genetics and Sustainable Agriculture Research, USDA-ARS, USA;

Dr. Ivan Ingelbrecht—International Atomic Energy Agency, Joint FAO/IAEA Centre for Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture, Austria;

Dr. María Ángeles Ferrer Ayala—Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena, Spain;

Dr. Ainong Shi—University of Arkansas, USA;

Dr. Nicolas Desneux—INRAE, Université Côte d'Azur, France;

Prof. Dr. Francisco A. P. Campos—Federal |University of Ceara, Brazil;

Dr. Yuanming Zhang—Huazhong Agricultural University, China.

It is our pleasure to announce that five Agronomy Editorial Board Members have been listed as 2021 Highly Cited Researchers by Clarivate. This corresponds to being in the top 1% of the most-cited researchers for that publication year.

1. Name: Prof. Dr. David Edwards

Affiliation: School of Biological Sciences, University of Western Australia, Australia
Interests: genomics; bioinformatics; wheat; brassica; and legumes

2. Name: Dr. Bhupinder Pal Singh

Affiliation: NSW Department of Primary Industries, Elizabeth Macarthur Agricultural Institute, Australia
Interests: soil organic matter; soil biogeochemistry; soil carbon and nutrient cycling; greenhouse gas emissions; plant–soil interaction; biochar; soil carbon functionality; tillage and stubble management; and organic amendments

3. Name: Dr. Wei Zhang

Affiliation: South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China
Interests: soil carbon, nitrogen, and/or phosphorus cycles; atmospheric N deposition; greenhouse gas (e.g., CO2, CH4, and N2O) fluxes from soil; soil ecological process and environmental change; and soil fertility

4. Name: Dr. Nicolas Desneux

Affiliation: INRAE, Université Côte d'Azur, CNRS, France
Interests: arthropod ecology; community ecology; ecotoxicology; biological control; integrated pest management; sublethal effects; and parasitoid specialization

5. Name: Dr. Rajeev K. Varshney

Affiliation: International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), India
Interests: molecular markers; molecular breeding; gene discovery; applied genomics; legumes; and abiotic stresses

The 2021 Highly Cited Researchers list has been announced by the Web of Science at: https://recognition.webofscience.com/awards/highly-cited/2021/.

It is our great honor to congratulate the Editorial Board Members and Editors in MDPI's journals who have been distinguished as 2021 Highly Cited Researchers by Clarivate, according to Web of Science data. We herewith express our gratitude for the immense impact the named researchers continue to make on scientific progress and on our journals' development.

Clarivate's annual list of Highly Cited Researchers^TM identifies the most highly cited scientists for the past decade. Their impactful papers are among the top 1 per cent in the citation distribution of one or more of 22 fields analyzed in the "Essential Science Indicators", distinguishing them as hugely influential among their peers.

The full list of 2021 Highly Cited Researchers  can be accessed at the following webpage in the Web of Science^TM https://recognition.webofscience.com/awards/highly-cited/2021/.

--- Highly Cited Researchers (HCR) is a Clarivate product.

Academic editors play a crucial role in leading our journals and ensuring that each article undergoes a robust and timely peer-review. With the launch of Topics this year and addition of Topic Editors to our family of academic editors, we decided it would be a good time to restructure our academic boards, thus providing more clarity and support for each role. MDPI is pleased to announce the launch of a new position—Topical Advisory Panel Member, that will replace the previous position of Topics Board Member. The Topical Advisory Panel will be comprised of early career researchers eager to gain experience in editorial work.

The main responsibility of the new members of the Topical Advisory Panel is to regularly provide support to Guest Editors, Topic Editors, and Section Board Members. The responsibilities of the Topical Advisory Panel are available here: https://www.mdpi.com/editors.

Each year, the members’ performances are evaluated, and outstanding members are promoted to the Editorial Board by the Editor-in-Chief.

To qualify as a Topical Advisory Panel Member, applicants must:

• Have expertise and experience in the field related to the journal;
• Have received a Ph.D. in the last 10 years, approximately;
• Have at least 6-8 published papers in the last 5 years as first author or corresponding author;
• Currently hold an independent research position in academia or a government institute.

If you are interested in this role, please contact the editorial office by email.

We look forward to hearing from you soon.

Founded in 1996, MDPI was one of the first fully Open Access publisher. Over 25 years MDPI has grown to become the largest Open Access publisher globally, publishing over 160,000 articles across more than 350 journals in 2020. At the core, MDPI was founded in response to a pressing need of fast publication and inclusion. The scholar was set at the centre of the publication process for the first time. Acting as a service provider, rather than a product provider, MDPI exists to help scientists achive their objective to disseminate research results. At MDPI, we believe scientists deserve a better service from the publishing world.

The International Open Access Week (Open Access Week), founded by the SPARC (the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition) Alliance and student partners in 2008, has been successfully running for 13 years. As an advocate and pioneer of open access publishing, MDPI actively responds to the call of International Open Access Week. This year’s theme of “It Matters How We Open Knowledge: Building Structural Equity” highlights the Recommendation’s call for equitable participation from all authors and readers.

For the last 25 years, MDPI has been committed to disseminating open research. Here is a video showing MDPI’s Commitment to Equity, Inclusion and Diversity for More than 25 Years.

International Open Access Week is an important opportunity to catalyze new conversations, create connections across and between communities that can facilitate this co-design, and advance progress in the building of more equitable foundations for opening knowledge—discussions and actions that need to be continued, year in and year out. MDPI has always aimed to provide professional and efficient publishing services to scholars around the world.

Our mission is to make scientific research accessible to everyone; this year, we interview and hold discussions with open science ambassadors on how to build an equal and inclusive environment for open science. Academic editors help us collaborate with more institutions to advocate for open access ideas.

Read our anniversary blog post: "Sharing 'Collective Human Knowledge': The Benefits of Open Access Publication"

Besides this, our scientific community is a key driver of our success and MDPI’s remarkable growth. Despite the pandemic, we have prepared online conferences and workshops to gather scholars from different communities.

The Basel Sustainable Publishing online forum provides an equal opportunity for stakeholders and researchers from multi-cultural environments to exchange ideas and eliminate barriers to participation.

Conference date: 25 October 2021, online
Conference website: https://bspf2021.sciforum.net/
Main topics: MDPI discusses the current dilemma of open access science from various perspectives such as governments, libraries, and publishers, and related measures on how to change the status quo of discrimination from a global perspective.

We aim to support equality, inclusion, diversity, and accessibility in scholarly communications. We collaborate with universities and key laboratories and have scholarly communications with researchers, teachers, and students on open access workshops.

• 25 October 2021
  Energies journal and Institute of Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences

• 28 October 2021
  Machines journal and State Key Laboratory of Traction Power, Southwest Jiaotong University

• 29 October 2021
  Processes journal and Beijing Institute of Technology

• 29 October 2021
  Coatings journal and Wuhan University of Technology

MDPI is committed to providing open access and high-quality publishing services for scholars and promoting rapid dissemination of academic achievements. We hope to promote the practices and policies of open access publishing and diversify the dissemination of academic achievements.

Rigorous peer-review is the cornerstone of high-quality academic publishing. Over 369,916 scholars served as reviewers for MDPI journals in 2020. We are extremely appreciative of all those who made a contribution to the editorial process in this capacity. At the beginning of every year, journal editorial offices publish a list of all reviewers’ names to express our gratitude. In addition, this year, the MDPI Top Reviewer Award was announced, to recognize the very best reviewers for their expertise and dedication, and their high-quality, and timely review reports. We are pleased to announce the following winners of the 2020 MDPI Top Reviewer Award:

• Adriana Burlea-Schiopoiu;
• Alban Kuriqi;
• Álvaro González-Vila;
• Alessandro Alaimo;
• Alexey Beskopylny;
• Alexander Yu Churyumov;
• Alberto Fernández-Isabel;
• Andrea Mastinu;
• Antonios N. Papadopoulos;
• Anton Rassõlkin;
• Antonio Humberto Hamad Minervino;
• Arkadiusz Matwijczuk;
• Artur Słomka;
• Baojie He;
• Bartłomiej Potaniec;
• Bojan Đurin;
• Camilo Arturo Rodriguez Diaz;
• Carmelo Maria Musarella;
• Chiachung Chen;
• Chiman Kwan;
• Cristian Busu;
• Danil Pimenov;
• Dan-Cristian Dabija;
• Delfín Ortega-Sánchez;
• Demetrio Antonio Zema;
• Denis Butusov;
• Elena Lucchi;
• Gaurab Dutta;
• Livia Anastasiu;
• M. R. Safaei.

For more information about how to become a reviewer of MDPI journals, please see: www.mdpi.com/reviewers.

The journal Agronomy (ISSN 2073-4395) is recruiting Reviewer Board Members. The main responsibility of the new members of the Reviewer Board is to regularly provide timely, high-quality reports on the submitted manuscripts. The responsibilities of the reviewers are available at https://www.mdpi.com/reviewers.

Agronomy is an international, scientific, peer-reviewed, open access journal published monthly online by MDPI. The Spanish Society of Plant Physiology (SEFV) is affiliated with Agronomy, and their members receive a discount on the article processing charges. The Impact Factor of Agronomy recently increased to 3.417, and the journal was ranked 18/91 (Q1) in the "Agronomy" category. The aims and scope of the journal can be found here.

The benefits of joining the Reviewer Board of Agronomy are as follows:

• We will announce your entry information on the journal's reviewer board;
• We will offer you a discount code (up to CHF 100) if a comprehensive and timely report is provided. The voucher can be used for your future publications in all MDPI journals;
• You will receive a personalized reviewer certificate;
• You will have the ability to adjust your review frequency based on your schedule in our system;
• Reviewer Board Members may be presented with the possibility of joining the Editorial Board of the journal (subject to the approval of the Editor-in-Chief).

If you are interested in becoming a Reviewer Board Member (RBM) of Agronomy, please send your application, including a full academic CV, to the Agronomy Editorial Office ([email protected]).

For more information about Agronomy, please visit the website: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/agronomy.

UN's 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are the blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all. In 2020 the SDG Publishers Compact was launched, aimed to inspire publishers and accelerate progress to achieve the 17 goals by 2030. Members of the programme are committed to support the publication of materials that will promote and inspire actions towards SDGs.

MDPI is an eager advocate of SDGs and has already been supporting the programme by creating Special Issues and publishing a series of books on SDGs prior to joining the Compact in 2021. MDPI's Sustainability Foundation initiated the World Sustainability Awards in 2016. We fully support UN's goals to promote sustainable actions that make the world a better place for all and, as part of its commitment, we will focus our actions on SDG10: Reduced Inequalities whilst promoting all 17 SDGs. For more details, please visit the programme’s website: https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sdg-publishers-compact/.

Joining this initiative was a unanimous decision. MDPI has in its core values the dissemination of science for all, breaking the wall between research access and under-represented members of the scientific community and the general population. To support this initiative further and continue to support under-represented scientists, MDPI will take a series of actions that will be announced once ready.

The first action MDPI takes is to nominate Dr. Liliane Auwerter as the coordinator of the programme. Dr. Auwerter studied Environmental Process Technology (UTFPR, Brazil), obtained her MSc degree in Water and Environmental Engineering (University of Surrey, UK) and in 2020 completed her PhD in self-healing low-friction materials for water transport (Imperial College London, UK), always focusing on diverse scientific projects that would potentially bring sustainability to industrial processes. As a student in Brazil, she engaged in volunteering activities focused on environmental education and took part in the Millennial Development Goals meetings held at the university.

For more information, please contact:
Dr. Liliane Auwerter
Scientific Officer
[email protected]

We are pleased to announce the Topic “Soil Fertility and Plant Nutrition for Sustainable Agriculture” (https://www.mdpi.com/topics/Fertility_Nutrition_Agriculture).

This collection invites contributions on new agricultural practices that maintain or restore soil life and fertility; new methods and technologies for mineral and organic feeding and plant fertilization; new sources of, and processes for, providing healthy food without negative impacts on the soil; the use of cultivars that efficiently valorize soil resources; and the use of plant cover or crop associations. Contributions concerning biocontrol and soilborne disease are also welcome.

The relevant journals are Horticulturae, Plants, Agronomy, Agriculture, and Sustainability. The submission deadline is 31 December 2022. Contributions to the topic are welcome.

This serves to announce to our valued authors based in Japan that value-added tax, or consumption tax will now be imposed on article processing fees and other service fees for all papers submitted, or resubmitted (assigned new paper IDs), effective from 15 August 2021. The change is in accordance with the Japanese "Act for Partial Revision of the Income Tax Act and Other Acts" (Act No. 9 of 2015), which includes a revision of consumption taxation on cross-border supplies of services such as digital content distribution.

For additional information from the National Tax Agency please see here ("Cross-border supplies of electronic services").

Contact: Setsuko Nishihara, MDPI Tokyo

The 2020 citation metrics have been officially released in the Journal Citation Reports (JCR)!

We are pleased to announce that 85 MDPI journals are included, of which:

• 10 journals received their first impact factor
• 96% of journals increased their impact factor from 2019
• 32 journals (38%) ranked among the top 25% of journals, in at least one category

* Journals given their first Impact Factor in 2021

Source: 2020 Journal Impact Factors, Journal Citation Reports ® (Clarivate, 2021)

Agronomy (ISSN 2073-4395) is an international and cross-disciplinary scholarly journal on agronomy and agroecology published monthly online by MDPI. Agronomy is recruiting Editorial Board Members whose research interests are related to agronomy and agroecology. Please find more details at https://www.mdpi.com/journal/agronomy/sections.

We already have some highly renowned experts on our Editorial Board, and we are looking for more excellent scholars in this field to join us. If you are interested in this position or know of any potential candidates who you would like to recommend, please contact the Agronomy Editorial Office ([email protected]). We look forward to hearing from you.

The main responsibilities of Editorial Board Members are as follows: 

• Pre-screening submissions and making decisions on whether a manuscript should be accepted or rejected for processing, as well as suggesting additional reviewers if necessary;
• Acting as Guest Editor of a Special Issue in your particular field of expertise, or recommending potential topics and Guest Editors;
• Promoting Agronomy and increasing its visibility at related academic conferences;
• Advising on the journal’s development. 

Agronomy Editorial Office

We welcome the following 68 recognized researchers, who recently joined the Editorial Board of Agronomy:

Prof. Dr. Guang-Wei Ding, Northern State University, Aberdeen, SD, USA
Prof. Dr. Cherubino Leonardi, University of Catania, Unict, Italy
Dr. Ping An, Arid Land Research Center, Tottori University, Japan
Dr. Xian Xue, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China
Dr. Catherine Picon-Cochard, French National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRAE), Université Clermont Auvergne (UCA), France
Prof. Dr. Carmen Galan, University of Cordoba, Spain
Prof. Dr. Susana Redondo-Gómez, Universidad de Sevilla, Spain
Dr. Sanja Cavar Zeljkovic, Crop Research Institute & Crop Research Institute, Šlechtitelů 29, 78371 Olomouc, Czech Republic , Czech Republic
Dr. Hamid Ashrafi, North Carolina State University, USA
Dr. Jiafa Luo, Land & Environment, AgResearch, Hamilton, New Zealand
Prof. Dr. Martin Gierus, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU), Austria
Dr. Agnes van den Pol-van Dasselaar, Aeres University of Applied Sciences, The Netherlands
Dr. Rajko Vidrih, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia
Dr. Zengming Chen, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China
Dr. Maria Arlene Adviento-Borbe, United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service, USA
Prof. Dr. Shahjahan Khan, University of Southern Queensland, Australia
Prof. Pedro Palencia, Oviedo University, Spain
Dr. Massimiliano Probo, Grazing System - Animal Production Systems and Animal Health - Agroscope (CH), Switzerland
Dr. Baohua Zhang, Agricultural University, China
Dr. Frédéric Marsolais, London Research and Development Centre, Canada
Prof. Dr. Wei Zhang, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China
Prof. Dr. Murat Kacira, The University of Arizonadisabled, USA
Dr. Miguel-Ángel Muñoz-García, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Spain
Dr. Francesca Taranto, Institute of Biosciences and Bioresources (CNR-IBBR), Italy
Prof. Dr. Jesús Martín-Gil, Universidad de Valladolid, Spain
Dr. Francesca Valerio, Institute of Sciences of Food Production, Bari, Italy
Dr. Chenggen Chu, USDA Agricultural Research Service, Washington, DC, USA
Prof. Dr. C.B. Rajashekar, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66503, USA
Dr. Víctor Manuel Rodríguez, CSIC - Mision Biologica de Galicia, Pontevedra, Spain
Dr. Baskaran Stephen Inbaraj, Catholic University, Hsinchuang, Taiwan
Dr. Sanghamitra Majumdar, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Little Rock, AR, USA
Dr. Zalmen Henkin, Agricultural Research Organization of Israel, Bet Dagan, Israel
Dr. Zhigang Li, Clemson University, Clemson, SC, USA
Prof. Dr. Stephen J. Novak, Boise State University, Boise, ID 83725, USA
Dr. Michael O'Donovan, Animal and Grassland Innovation Centre, Ireland
Prof. Dr. Helena Freitas, University of Coimbra, Portugal
Prof. Dr. Marjana Regvar, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
Dr. José Luis Santiago Blanco, CSIC, Spain
Dr. Shuyu Liu, Texas A&M University/AgriLife Research, USA
Dr. Susana Pascual, Plant Protection Department Spanish National Institute for Agricultural and Food Research and Technology (INIA), Spain
Prof. Dr. Pedro Talhinhas, Universidade de Lisboa, Tapada da Ajuda, Portugal
Dr. Xiangchao Gan, Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research, Germany
Dr. Marta Francisco, Spanish National Research Council-Misión Biológica de Galicia, Spain
Dr. Arno Rosemarin, Stockholm Environment Institute, Stockholm, Sweden
Dr. Eliseu José Guedes Pereira, Federal University of Viçosa, 36570-900 Viçosa, MG, Brazil
Dr. Maria Céu Lavado da Silva, Instituto Superior de Agronomia, Universidade de Lisboa, Oeiras, Portugal
Dr. Ivo Toševski, CABI, Switzerland
Dr. Sergio Molinari, Institute for Sustainable Plant Protection, National Research Council of Italy (IPSP-CNR), Bari, Italy
Dr. Michel Lecoq, CIRAD, France
Dr. Robert Lascano, USDA ARS Southern Plains Agricultural Research Center, USA
Prof. Dr. Mario Cunha, University of Porto (FCUP), Portugal
Prof. Dr. Zhi Min Yang, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China
Prof. Dr. Fabio Francesco Nocito, Università degli Studi du Milano, 20122 Milano, Italy
Dr. Rebekah Oliver, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND, USA
Dr. Ricardo Bressan-Smith, Universidade Estadual do Norte Fluminense, Brazil

Further details about the Editorial Board can be found at: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/agronomy/editors.

Agronomy Editorial Office

We are pleased to announce that Prof. Dr. Christos Athanassiou has been appointed as Section Editor-in-Chief of " Pest and Disease Management” in Agronomy.

We are also pleased to announce that Prof. Dr. Pedro Javier Zapata has been appointed as Section Editor-in-Chief of "Agricultural Engineering" in Agronomy.

We warmly welcome Prof. Dr. Christos Athanassiou and Prof. Dr. Pedro Javier Zapata in taking up their roles as Section Editors-in-Chief and look forward to them leading Agronomy to achieve many more milestones.

We are pleased to announce the winners of the Agronomy 2019–2020 Best Cover Awards. In total, 24 cover stories published from 2019 to 2020 in Agronomy were considered for these awards.

The winners are as follows:

• Agronomy, Volume 9, Issue 8 (August 2019)“Pursuing the Potential of Heirloom Cultivars to Improve Adaptation, Nutritional, and Culinary Features of Food Crops”
  (doi: 10.3390/agronomy9080441)

• Agronomy, Volume 10, Issue 7 (July 2020)
  “Improving the Red Color and Fruit Quality of ‘Kent’ Mango Fruit by Pruning and Preharvest Spraying of Prohydrojasmon or Abscisic Acid”
  (doi: 10.3390/agronomy10070944)

The winners of the “Agronomy 2019–2020 Best Cover Awards”, in no particular order, will receive 100 CHF each.

Congratulations to the winners for their excellent research!

Agronomy Editorial Office

It is our great pleasure to announce that Agronomy (ISSN 2073-4395) has received an increased CiteScore (2020 Scopus data) of 2.6 for the year 2020, which equals the rank of 119/347 (Q2) in "Agronomy and Crop Science"

We would like to extend our sincerest gratitude to all the authors, reviewers, and editors who have contributed to the journal and enabled this achievement!

Agronomy Editorial Office

MDPI Books recently released Book Builder, a new online tool to conveniently arrange, design and produce an eBook from any content published in MDPI journals. Book Builder offers two functions: on the one hand (1) Selections, available to every registered user of MDPI; on the other hand (2) Special Issue Reprints, which can be used exclusively by Guest Editors of Special Issues.

Selections

In just a matter of a few clicks, all users are now able to assemble books from MDPI articles and receive instantaneous feedback in the form of a fully produced and compiled book (PDF), which can be downloaded or ordered as print copy. Selections can include any paper published with MDPI, picking and combining content from different journals and special issues.

This way, the user may for example choose to compile an ebook focusing around a particular topic, or assemble articles from a group of others.

We invite you to make yourself familiar with the new tool! The Book Builder can be found here: https://www.mdpi.com/books/book_builder.

Special Issue Reprints

The Book Builder allows Guest Editors of MDPI journals to create a reprint from a successfully completed Special Issue or Topical Collection in book format. If you are a Guest Editor for an MDPI journal, you can use the new tool  to create an PDF document which includes all articles published in the Special Issue as well as a book cover and table of contents.

For Special Issues containing a minimum of 5 articles, the Guest Editor can request its publication on the MDPI Book platform. Published reprints are assigned an ISBN and DOI.

In addition to the PDF copy of the Reprint Book, as a token of our gratitude, MDPI offers every Guest Editor one (1) complimentary print copy (via print-on-demand). All contributors benefit from a discount on orders of any additional print copies, to share with colleagues or libraries or others.

Why choose MDPI Books?

In line with our organization's values, MDPI Books publishes all content in open access, promoting the exchange of ideas and knowledge in a globalized world. MDPI Books encompasses all the benefits of open access—high availability and visibility, as well as wide and rapid dissemination. MDPI Books are distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution License, meaning as an author you retain the copyright for your work. In addition, with MDPI Books you can complement the digital version of your work with a high-quality printed counterpart.

If you are interested in editing a book volume or series, or have a monograph manuscript to be considered for publication, please submit your proposal online and look at our Information for Authors.

Contact: Laura Wagner, MDPI Books Manager (email)

In June of this year, MDPI will celebrate the 25th anniversary of its foundation. To mark this significant milestone, we have created a 25th Anniversary page on our website that evokes the development of our company over the past quarter-century.

MDPI has been a pioneer of Open Access publishing ever since the concept was first created.

In a wide-ranging interview, our CEO Delia Mihaila reflects on the company’s 25th anniversary and its contribution to the world of scientific publishing.

Delia considers how MDPI has evolved since starting life in 1996 as a visionary ‘project’ run out of an apartment in Basel, Switzerland, by Dr. Shu-Kun Lin. A chemist who was passionate about the long-term preservation of rare chemical sample, Dr. Lin was determined to help scholars publish their findings as quickly as possible and make their research results available to as wide a readership as possible worldwide. That determination remains unchanged 25 years later.

Today, MDPI is an international organization with over 4,000 employees based on three continents and in ten countries, and ranks among the world's top four academic publishers.

MDPI's mission is to accelerate access to new scientific research, delivering insight faster for researchers worldwide. Read more here about the company's remarkable success story and what the Open Access publishing model can offer the global scientific community.

Agronomy (ISSN 2073-4395), is an international and cross-disciplinary scholarly journal on agronomy and agroecology published monthly online by MDPI. Agronomy is recruiting Editorial Board Members whose research interests are related to agronomy and agroecology. Please find more details at https://www.mdpi.com/journal/agronomy/sections.

We already have some highly renowned experts on our Editorial Board, and we are looking for more excellent scholars in this field to join us. If you are interested in this position or know of any potential candidates you would like to recommend, please contact the Agronomy Editorial Office ([email protected]). 

The main responsibilities of Editorial Board Members are as follows: 

• Pre-screening submissions and making decisions on whether a manuscript should be accepted or rejected for processing, as well as suggesting additional reviewers if necessary;
• Acting as Guest Editor of a Special Issue in your particular field of expertise, or recommending potential topics and Guest Editors;
• Promoting Agronomy and increasing its visibility at related academic conferences;
• Advising on the journal’s development. 

We look forward to hearing from you.
Agronomy Editorial Office

We welcome the following 40 recognized researchers, who recently joined the Editorial Board of Agronomy:

Dr. Javier Terol, Instituto Valenciano de Investigaciones Agrarias IVIA, Valencia, Spain
Prof. Dr. Xiangnan Li, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130102, China
Dr. Junhua Peng, Hunan Agricultural University, China
Prof. Jianlong Li, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China
Dr. Chiara Corbari, Politecnico di Milano, Milan, Italy
Dr. Daozhi Gong, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China
Prof. Dr. Siegrid Steinkellner, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna, Austria
Dr. J. Antonio Cortinas Rguez, University of Vigo, 32002 Ourense, Spain
Dr. Massimo Zaccardelli, CREA Research Centre for Vegetable and Ornamental Crops, Italy
Dr. Francesc Xavier Prenafeta Boldú, Institute of Agrifood Research and Technology (IRTA), Spain
Dr. Yang Zhu, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
Dr. Jörg Schaller, Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF), Germany
Prof. Dr. Linchuan Fang, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China
Prof. Dr. Luis Hernández-Callejo, University of Valladolid, Valladolid, Spain
Dr. Rose Brodrick, CSIRO Agriculture and Food , Canberra ACT 2601, Australia
Dr. Jorge Ferreira, US Salinity Laboratory, USA
Dr. Guillem Pérez-Jordà, University of Valencia, Spain
Dr. Niels P. Louwaars, Wageningen University and Plantum, Wageningen, The Netherlands
Dr. Marie France Corio-Costet, Department of Plant Health and Environment, French National Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment (INRAE), France
Prof. Michael Heinrich, UCL School of Pharmacy, UK
Dr. Carla Gentile, University of Palermo | UNIPA, Palermo, Italy
Prof. Dr. Cinzia Margherita Bertea, University of Torino, Italy
Dr. Aiming Qi, University of Hertfordshire, UK
Dr. Jorge Paz-Ferreiro, RMIT University, Australia
Dr. Longjiang Fan, Zhejiang University, China
Dr. Koki Toyota, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Japan
Dr. Jie Zhao, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China
Dr. Danilo Scordia, University of Catania, Italy
Prof. Dr. Gniewko Niedbała, Poznań University of Life Sciences, Poland
Dr. Ivan Francisco Garcia Tejero, Andalusian Institute of Teaching and Agricultural Researcher (IFAPA), Spain
Assoc. Prof. Magdalena Sobocińska, Wroclaw University of Economics and Business, Poland
Prof. Dr. Rosa Maria Fanelli, University of Molise, Italy
Prof. Dr. Piotr Prus, UTP University of Science and Technology in Bydgoszcz, Poland
Dr. Antonia María Rojano-Delgado, University Cordoba, 14014 Cordoba, Spain
Dr. Marco Medici, Alma Mater Studiorum-University of Bologna, 40127 Bologna, Italy
Dr. Andrea Liliana Clavijo McCormick, Massey University, New Zealand
Dr. Gianluca Allegro, University of Bologna, Italy
Dr. Xiangjun Zou, South China Agricultural University, China
Prof. Dr. Witold Grzebisz, Poznan University of Life Sciences, Poland
Prof. Dr. Francis Drummond, University of Maine, USA

Further details about the Editorial Board can be found at: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/agronomy/editors.

The editorial team would like to congratulate the winners of the Agronomy 10th Anniversary Best Paper Award, who were chosen by a Selection Committee chaired by the Editor-in-Chief, Prof. Dr. Peter Langridge. Following a review process by the Evaluation Committee, six winners were selected. The winners of the “Agronomy 10th Anniversary Best Paper Award” are as follows:

Article:

The First Award: (800 CHF + a certificate)

Long-Term Effects of Biochar-Based Organic Amendments on Soil Microbial Parameters
Martin Brtnicky, Tereza Dokulilova, Jiri Holatko, Vaclav Pecina, Antonin Kintl, Oldrich Latal, Tomas Vyhnanek, Jitka Prichystalova and Rahul Datta
Agronomy 2019, 9(11), 747; doi:10.3390/agronomy9110747
Available Online: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/9/11/747
“It was a very pleasant experience to publish the present work with the cooperation of Agronomy. I appreciate being able to work with a high-quality professional team at Agronomy, who rapidly moved us through the review and proof correction process. I hope more and more influential articles will be published in Agronomy in the future.”

The Second Award: (600 CHF + a certificate)

Effect of Gibberellic Acid on Growth, Yield, and Quality of Leaf Lettuce and Rocket Grown in a Floating System
Alessandro Miceli, Alessandra Moncada, Leo Sabatino and Filippo Vetrano
Agronomy 2019, 9(7), 382; doi:10.3390/agronomy9070382
Available Online: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/9/7/382
“I’m very honored to accept The Second Award of Agronomy 10th Anniversary Best Paper Awards.  I accept this award on behalf of the co-authors who helped in preparing the paper. I would like to thank the colleagues of SAAF department of the University of Palermo who supported the efforts for developing this research, the Editors and the reviewers of Agronomy for their suggestions that helped to improve the article, all the readers of Agronomy who have spent their time in reading this article and, of course, my family.”

The Third Award: (300 CHF + a certificate)

Biomass Prediction of Heterogeneous Temperate Grasslands Using an SfM Approach Based on UAV Imaging
Esther Grüner, Thomas Astor and Michael Wachendorf
Agronomy 2019, 9(2), 54; doi:10.3390/agronomy9020054
Available Online: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/9/2/54

“Thank you very much for selecting our paper for the „The Third Award of Agronomy 10th Anniversary Best Paper Awards“. I feel very honored and would also like to thank those who have supported my collegues and me to achieve this goal. It means a lot to us that the innovative topic of remote sensing is becoming increasingly important in agriculture and that we have been able to make our contribution.”

Review:

The First Award: (800 CHF + a certificate)

Plant Biostimulants: Importance of the Quality and Yield of Horticultural Crops and the Improvement of Plant Tolerance to Abiotic Stress—A Review
Magdalena Drobek, Magdalena Frąc and Justyna Cybulska
Agronomy 2019, 9(6), 335; doi:10.3390/agronomy9060335
Available Online: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/9/6/335
“It is a big honor to obtain such eminent distinction. We are very grateful to Agronomy Editorial Office for selection our review article from between other excellent publications. I believe that our work will make a contribution to the broad recognizability of Agronomy journal. We also hope that our review about the influence of biostimulants on the quality of fruit and vegetables will help in spreading knowledge about scientific evidences of advantageous features of such agents and application of biostimulants will becoming popular between fruit and vegetable planters.”

The Second Award: (600 CHF + a certificate)

Increasing Sustainability of Growing Media Constituents and Stand-Alone Substrates in Soilless Culture Systems
Nazim S. Gruda
Agronomy 2019, 9(6), 298; doi:10.3390/agronomy9060298
Available Online: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/9/6/298
"This award is a recognition for soilless culture and shows us how vital such systems in today horticulture are. Soilless culture is the key component of more intensive yet sustainable agriculture. We need research in crucial areas such as precision cultivation of high-quality products, and novel, environmental-friendly and climate-smart growing media to realise its potential. The interaction with well-qualified, independent reviewers within the fast track of the journal is appreciated. Hopefully, more papers on this topic will be published in Agronomy in the future."

The Third Award: (300 CHF + a certificate)

Microalgal Biostimulants and Biofertilisers in Crop Productions
Domenico Ronga, Elisa Biazzi, Katia Parati, Domenico Carminati, Elio Carminati and Aldo Tava
Agronomy 2019, 9(4), 192; doi:10.3390/agronomy9040192
Available Online: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/9/4/192
“I am extremely honoured to be receiving this important award ‘The Third Award of Agronomy 10th Anniversary Best Paper Awards’. I am earnestly grateful for the recognition I have received for my work, regarding the valorisation and the use of microalgae as biostimulants and biofertilisers in crop productions.”

Please join us in congratulating the winners of the Agronomy 10th Anniversary Best Paper Award. We would also like to take this opportunity to thank all of our authors for their continued support of Agronomy.

Editor-in-Chief,
Prof. Dr. Peter Langridge, Agronomy

At MDPI, we strive to make your online publication process seamless and efficient. To achieve this, our team is continuously developing tools and features to make the user experience useful and convenient.

As the number of academic papers continues to grow, so does the need to analyze and work with them on a large scale. This prompted us to design a new feature aimed at helping researchers find journals that are relevant to their publication by matching their abstract topic. In this regard, we designed a similarity model that automatically identifies the most suitable academic journals for your paper.

We are pleased to introduce Journal Selector, a new feature that measures similarity in academic contexts. By simply entering the title and/or abstract into our Journal Selector, the author will see a list of the most related scientific journals published by MDPI. This method helps authors select the correct journals for their papers, highlighting the time of publication and citability.

The methodology is known as representation learning, where words are represented as vectors in hyperspace. Representation helps us differentiate between different concepts within articles, and in turn, helps us identify similarities between them.

We used an advanced machine learning model to better capture the semantic meanings of words. This helps the algorithm make better predictions by leveraging scientific text representation. In turn, this ensures high precision, helping authors decide which journal they should submit their paper to.

The goal is to support authors to publish their work in the most suitable journal for their research, as fast as possible, accelerating their career progress.

Contact: Andrea Perlato, Head of Data Analytics, MDPI (email)

Dear colleagues,

We are pleased to announce the winners of the Agronomy 10th Anniversary Outstanding Reviewer Award. The Agronomy Editorial Board and Editorial Team would like to gratefully acknowledge the time and energy dedicated by reviewers in checking the manuscripts submitted to Agronomy. It is due to their efforts that the high quality of the journal and quick turnaround are maintained.

“I greatly appreciate your decision to grant me with your prestigious award of “Agronomy 10th Anniversary Outstanding Reviewer Award”. It is a great pleasure to review manuscripts for the journal of Agronomy (MDPI). I will do my best to review manuscripts for Agronomy in the future too. I also hope that my work as a reviewer will increase further the scientific value of Agronomy.”

“I am especially appreciative and pleased to have been selected to receive the “Agronomy 10th Anniversary Outstanding Reviewer Award”. It is an honor for me that my work in reviewing has been recognized in this way by the Agronomy Award Committee, and I promise that I will continue my efforts.”

“I want to thank you for giving me the award as a reviewer of Agronomy on the 10^th anniversary of this journal. It is an important distinction and a great honor for me considering the high renown Agronomy has. I am glad, that my work as a reviewer caused the increase of published papers quality and could be an indication for young scientist preparing and submitting manuscripts to the Agronomy. I suppose these aspects gained recognition among participants of Award Committee. At the end, I would like to wish you many valuable and interesting papers and keeping the high rank of Agronomy in the future, as well as health and further success for whole Redactors team in the 2021.”

“When I first joined the Reviewer Board of Agronomy back in March 2020, the SARS-CoV-2 virus (or COVID-19 as it is widely known) had already landed on the shores of the US and we were all puzzled and rather worried to a certain extent, based on the news from Europe and elsewhere, for the development and advancement of the disease in the society. Despite the overall unrest and challenges of everyday life since then, I was fortunate to receive invitations for reviewing manuscripts for the Agronomy and other MDPI journals that enabled me to stay focused and positive, whilst expanding my knowledge in the broader area of crop improvement and agriculture, in general. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the journal Award Committee for this unanticipated recognition, as well as the editors that I communicated with the past few months. I hope that 2021 will be a better year for all of us. Until then, stay safe and stay healthy!”

The above awardees have been selected by the Editor-in-Chief of Agronomy, Prof. Dr. Peter Langridge. Each of them will receive 500 CHF, an offer to publish a paper free of charge in Agronomy before 31 June 2021, and a certificate to recognize their outstanding work.

Kind regards,
Prof. Dr. Peter Langridge
Editor-in-Chief, Agronomy

To expand our contribution and impact on the fields of agronomy and agroecology, we are recruiting scientists to join our Editorial Board. We encourage applications from researchers with a background in a wide range of subject areas (https://www.mdpi.com/journal/agronomy/sections).

Should you decide to serve on the Agronomy Editorial Board, you would be responsible for some of the following tasks depending on your availability:

1. Helping review 6–10 manuscripts per year, include making pre-check decision, first decision, and final decision;
2. You may choose to help edit a Special Issue on a topic related to your research;
3. Promoting Agronomy and published papers at conferences that you attend or organize.

Benefits for Agronomy Editorial Board Members include the following:

1. You can publish one paper per year free of charge;
2. A recognition certificate as an Editorial Board Member of Agronomy;
3. We may apply travel grants for conferences that you attend or organize;
4. Additional sponsorships are offered by Agronomy for conferences that you organize.

Agronomy (ISSN 2073-4395; CODEN: ABSGGL) is an international, scientific, peer-reviewed, open access journal published monthly online by MDPI. Its impact factor is 2.603 (2019), and it has been indexed in the Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE)-Web of Science, Scopus, and other databases. For more information about Agronomy, please visit: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/agronomy.

To apply or request further information, please contact the Agronomy Editorial Office ([email protected]).

We welcome the following 22 recognized researchers, who recently joined the Editorial Board of Agronomy:

Dr. Jana Okleštková, Palacký University, Czech Republic

Dr. Christina Eynck, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Canada

Dr. Betty Benrey, University of Neuchatel, Switzerland

Dr. Adamo Domenico Rombolà, University of Bologna, Italy

Prof. Dr. Mark P. Widrlechner, Iowa State University, USA

Dr. Sabine Tausz-Posch, CQUniversity, Australia

Dr. Salvatore Ceccarelli, Bioversity International, Italy

Dr. Arnd Jürgen Kuhn, Wilhelm-Johnen-Straße, Germany

Dr. Rodolfo Gentili, University of Milano-Bicocca, Italy

Prof. Nikolaos Papadopoulos, University of Thessaly, Greece

Dr. Vladimir Nekrasov, Hertfordshire, UK

Prof. Ana I Ribeiro-Barros, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa (UNL), Portugal

Dr. Stéphane Bourque, Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté, France

Prof. Dr. Nazim Gruda, University of Bonn, Germany

Dr. Emanuele Radicetti, University of Tuscia, Italy

Dr. Sophie Parks, NSW Department of Primary Industries, Australia

Prof. Dr. Essaid Ait Barka, Universite de Reims Champagne-Ardenne, France

Dr. Siegbert Melzer, University of Kiel, Germany

Dr. Nunzio Fiorentino, University of Naples Federico II, Italy

Dr. Fabienne Micheli, Cirad, France

Dr. Victor Gaba, Agricultural Research Organization—The Volcani Center, Israel

Dr. Vicente J. Febres, University of Florida, USA

We look forward to their contributions to the journal.

MDPI is proud to adopt the principles of the Coalition for Diversity & Inclusion in Scholarly Communications (C4DISC) to support building equity, inclusion, diversity, and accessibility in scholarly communications.

The C4DISC represents organizations and individuals working in scholarly communications and is focused on addressing issues of diversity and inclusion within the publishing industry.

MDPI’s Managing Editors encourage the Editors-in-Chief and Associate Editors to appoint diverse expert Editorial Boards. This is also reflective in our multi-national and inclusive workplace. We are proud to create equal opportunities without regard to gender, ethnicity, geographic location, sexual orientation, age, disability, political beliefs, religion, or socio-economic status. There is no place for discrimination in our workplace and editors of MDPI journals are to uphold these principles in high regard.

Representatives from C4DISC meet monthly, and have started to implement initiatives to shed light and improve on the lack of diversity in scholarly communications. Some of the initiatives include developing a joint statement of principles; conducting market research; providing training resources, best practices, toolkits, and documentation for our collective memberships; and establishing outreach programs, curricula, events, and publications.

The Coalition is committed to:

• eliminating barriers to participation, extending equitable opportunities across all stakeholders, and ensuring that our practices and policies promote equitable treatment and do not allow, condone, or result in discrimination;
• creating and maintaining an environment that respects diverse traditions, heritages, and experiences;
• promoting diversity in all staff, volunteers, and audiences, including full participation in programs, policy formulation, and decision-making;
• raising awareness about career opportunities in our industries to groups who are currently underrepresented in the workforce;
• supporting our members in achieving diversity and inclusion within their organizations.

At MDPI we have slightly revised the layout for articles to be published in the 2021 Volume, starting at the end of December 2020. As of today, the article templates available for download on ‘Instructions for Authors’ pages have been updated.

The most noticeable change can be found on the first page of the article, where a left-hand column has been created to include the following front matter elements: (i) the recommended citation style for the article, (ii) the publishing history, (iii) as well as the Creative Commons Attribution license used (iv) a standard note regarding affiliations. At the same time, the extra spacing on the left means the authors’ affiliations are now more clearly set apart than before. Other front matter key elements such as journal logo, article type, article title, authors, abstract and keywords remain unchanged.

The blank column on the left runs through all pages in an article; as a result, the main text is slightly more condensed, which improve reader friendliness for smaller screens. Small figures/tables are aligned on the left with standard indenture, while large figures/tables are centered and covering the full width of the page. The revised layout was applied in the article pictured below, to serve as an example:

1) Information is displayed in the left information bar.

2) In the main text, there is a blank column on the left.

3) Small tables/figures are aligned on the left, large tables/figures are centered.

We are pleased to acknowledge that many academic editors who have made an impact on MDPI journals as editorial board members, editors-in-chief, or section editors, are recognized as 2020 Highly Cited Researchers by Clarivate.

Highly Cited Researchers highlights the top 1% of researchers, by citations, in one or more of the 22 fields used in Clarivate Analytics Essential Science Indicators. We offer our congratulations to 279 academic editors of MDPI journals who were recognized as the most influential scholars in their fields in 2020.

The full list of 2020 Highly Cited Researchers  can be accessed on https://recognition.webofsciencegroup.com/awards/highly-cited/2020/

--- Highly Cited Researchers (HCR) is a Clarivate product.

Dear scientists, researchers, and authors,

We are pleased to announce that the 1st International Electronic Conference on Agronomy (IECAG 2021), chaired by Prof. Dr. Youssef Rouphael, will be held on https://iecag2021.sciforum.net from 3 to 17 May 2021.

This conference aims to provide leading scientists working in the field of agronomy with a platform where they can share and discuss the latest research and promote the advancement of this exciting and rapidly changing field. We hope to encourage discovery across the discipline as we cover the following seven topics, as listed below:

• Application of New Breeding Technologies to Crop Improvement
• Sustainable Management Practices for Soil Health and Food Security
• Agronomic Innovations for Sustainable Intensification of Horticultural Production Systems
• Challenges in Grassland Agro-Ecology in a Global Change Context
• Weed Invasion, Biology and Management in Agricultural Settings
• Sustainable and Resilient Farming Systems
• Precision and Digital Agriculture

We proudly invite the global community of scholars to join IECAG 2021 to present their latest research and developments and share novel ideas on all multidisciplinary aspects of agronomy. Thanks to the flexibility of our innovative electronic platform, you are welcome both to upload and present your work and to attend the conference completely free of charge. We are also considering creating a Special Issue for selected conference papers in our journal Agronomy (https://www.mdpi.com/journal/Agronomy/special_issues/IECAG2021). In this case, papers published in this Special Issue would receive a 20% discount on the article processing charge.

IECAG 2021 offers you the opportunity to participate in an international scholarly conference without the concerns and expense of travelling—all you need is access to the Internet. During the conference period, you will be able to upload papers, posters, and presentations (including videos) and to comment on other presentations and otherwise engage with fellow scholars in real time. In this way, the conference offers a novel opportunity to exchange opinions and views within the scholarly community and to discuss papers and the latest research in a discussion forum. A number of live online sessions are planned throughout the duration of the conference. During each session, participants will have the possibility to ask questions during the Q&A session. The live sessions are free for authors. Authors with submissions to IECAG 2021 will be given priority for registration (with no extra cost) to the live online sessions with our keynote speakers.

Time Schedule:

• Abstract Deadline: 31 January 2021
• Abstract Acceptance Notification Deadline: 20 February 2021
• Full Paper Submission Deadline: 31 March 2021
• Conference: 3–17 May 2021

Paper Submission Guidelines:

For information about the procedures for submission, peer review, revision, and acceptance of conference proceedings papers, please refer to the section “Instructions for Authors” at the website (https://sciforum.net/conference/IECAG2021).We look forward to receiving your research papers and to welcoming you to our 1st International Electronic Conference on Agronomy (IECAG 2021).Please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions.

Kind regards,
Prof. Dr. Youssef Rouphael
University of Naples Federico II

Conference Secretariat

Ms. Alicia Ren
Ms. Leda Xuan
Ms. Gris Guo
Email: [email protected]

We welcome the following 34 recognized researchers, who recently joined the Editorial Board of Agronomy:

Prof. Dr. Thomas E. Reagan, Louisiana State University, USA

Dr. Anita Ierna, National Research Council (CNR-IBE), Italy

Prof. Richard Webster, Rothamsted Research, UK

Prof. Dr. Carlos Iglesias, North Carolina State University, USA

Dr. Ward Smith, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Canada

Dr. Luke Moe, University of Kentucky, USA

Prof. Dr. Massimo Fagnano, University of Naples Federico II, Italy

Dr. Pavlos Tsouvaltzis, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece

Prof. Dr. Victor Galea, The University of Queensland, Australia

Dr. Jianjun Yang, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, China

Prof. Dr. José L.S. Pereira, Agrarian School of Viseu, Portugal

Dr. Joseph Robins, Utah State Univ., USA

Dr. Andreas Stahl, Univ Giessen, Germany

Prof. Dr. Zvi Peleg, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel

Prof. Dr. Enrico Porceddu, Tuscia University, Italy

Dr. David W. Archer, USDA Agricultural Research Service, USA

Dr. Antonios Zambounis, Institute of Plant Breeding and Genetic Resources, Greece

Dr. Giacomo Mangini, Italian National Research Council, Italy

Dr. Ivan Hiltpold, Agroscope, Switzerland

Dr. Yuba Kandel, Iowa State University, USA

Dr. Carlos Miranda, Universidad Pública de Navarra, Spain

Dr. Katja Klumpp, INRA, France

Prof. Dr. Amanda Kennedy, Queensland University of Technology, Australia

Prof. Dr. Jacynthe Dessureault-Rompré, Laval University, Canada

Dr. Maik Veste, Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus–Senftenberg, Germany

Dr. Fred Muehlbauer, USDA‐ARS, USA

Dr. Nikolaos Ntoulas, Agricultural University of Athens, Greece

Dr. Federico Vita, University of Florence, Italy

Dr. Riccardo Velasco, CREA - Research Centre for Viticulture and Enology, Italy

Dr. Naeem Khan, University of Florida, USA

Prof. Dr. Lech Wojciech Szajdak, Polish Academy of Sciences, Poland

Dr. Ashraf Tubeileh, California Polytechnic State University, USA

Prof. Dr. Jose Beltrao, Unversity of Algarve, Portugal

Dr. Juan Jose Rios, Centro de Edafologia y Biologia Aplicada del Segura (CEBAS-CSIC), Spain

We are delighted to announce the establishment of our Open Access agreement with Jisc Collections, which will allow UK institutions to benefit from access to article processing charge (APC) discounts and streamlined payment workflows.

All institutions participating in the agreement will also gain access to the MDPI online submission system where they can find full article metadata and pricing information for easy identification and additional transparency.

Eligible authors affiliated with the participating institutions are prompted to choose the corresponding Institutional Open Access Program (IOAP) when they submit an article via our online submission system.

About Jisc

Jisc's vision is for the UK to be the most digitally advanced education and research nation in the world. At its heart is the super-fast national research and education network, Janet, with built-in cyber security protection.  Jisc also provides technology solutions for its members (colleges, universities and research centres) and customers (public sector bodies), helps members save time and money by negotiating sector-wide deals and provides advice and practical assistance on digital technology. Jisc is funded by the UK higher and further education and research funding bodies and member institutions.

For more information, contact [email protected]

About MDPI

MDPI is a publisher of fully peer-reviewed, Open Access journals with a focus on thorough and rapid editorial processing. Its aim is to ensure that high-quality research is verified and made available to the research community as quickly as possible. MDPI stands at the forefront of the Open Access movement, having launched its first online journal Molecules in 1996. Today, MDPI is a leader in Open Access publishing with over 250 journals across all research disciplines, and all content published under a Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY).

For any questions about this agreement, please contact the MDPI IOAP team at [email protected].

The updated citation metrics have been released in the Journal Citation Reports (JCR), published by Clarivate. The recent release of the JCR includes seventy-one MDPI titles. Out of these, 18 titles are newcomers, receiving a first Journal Impact Factor which is based on citation activity in 2019: Actuators, Agriculture, Biology, Biomedicines, Biosensors, Chemosensors, Children, Healthcare, Journal of Fungi, Journal of Personalized Medicine (JPM), Land, Life, Magnetochemistry, Membranes, Pharmaceuticals, Photonics, Separations and Toxics.

• Out of the previously listed journals, a total of 72 percent boast an increased Impact Factor.
• 25 journals are ranked among the top 25% of journals in at least one of the categories they are ranked for.
• Articles published in 2019 in MDPI journals account for approximately 17 percent of of articles published in gold Open Access journals covered in the Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE) and Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI).
  
  

First Impact Factors

Updated Impact Factors