Announcements

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 (iecag2022@mdpi.com).

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

IECAG2022 Conference Secretariat

Email: iecag2022@mdpi.com

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 (agronomy@mdpi.com).

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, antoniosaugustinos@gmail.com

Dr. María Teresa Martínez Ferrer—Convenor of the IOBC Working Group Integrated Control in Citrus Fruit Crops, teresa.martinez@irta.cat

Prof. Dr. Nikolaos Papadopoulos—IOBC-WPRS Liaison Officer, University of Thessaly, Volos, Greece, nikopap@uth.gr

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.