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Agronomy
Special Issues
Organic Fertilization Application in Vegetable and Fruit Cultivation
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Organic Fertilization Application in Vegetable and Fruit Cultivation

A special issue of Agronomy (ISSN 2073-4395). This special issue belongs to the section "Horticultural and Floricultural Crops".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 August 2025 | Viewed by 11596

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Brezeanu Creola

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
VRDS Bacău—Vegetable Research and Development Station, Calea Bârladului, 220, 600388 Bacău, Romania
Interests: screening; organic farming; crop production
Dr. Ferdinando Branca

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Agricultural Sciences, Food and Environment-Di3A, University of Catania, Via Valdisavoia n. 5, 95123 Catania, Italy
Interests: plant physiology; plant growth; conservation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Over the last decades we have faced the imperative need for long-term sustainable farming methods and systems able to decrease environmental pollution and preserve plant health and biodiversity. New resilient genetic resources, organic inputs, and friendly practices are essential to mitigate the changing climatic environment and its associated negative effects. Organic fertilizers significantly increase vegetable and fruit yield and quality, known for their ability to improve metabolic pathways for enhanced metabolite synthesis. On the other hand, their inappropriate application may cause serious environmental risks. 

With this Special Issue of Agronomy, we seek integrative studies that provide insights into the influence of different organic fertilizer applications on the yield and quality of diverse vegetables and fruit species, as well as reviews that offer original perspectives on the exploration of organic fertilization benefits and risks. Contributions are encouraged, where is feasible, to translate their results into comprehensive recommendations easy to apply and tested in real farm conditions. 

Dr. Brezeanu Creola
Dr. Ferdinando Branca
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Agronomy is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • sustainable farming
  • organic fertilizers
  • quality of vegetables and fruits species

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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22 pages, 3246 KiB  
Article
The Role of Melatonin in Modulating Morphometric Parameters and Bioactive Compounds of Brassica oleracea L. var. italica Plenck Under Drought Stress
by Donata Arena, Hajer Ben Ammar, Victor Manuel Rodriguez, Pablo Velasco, Riccardo Calì, Luca Ciccarello and Ferdinando Branca
Agronomy 2025, 15(2), 279; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy15020279 - 23 Jan 2025
Viewed by 636
Abstract
Drought stress significantly affects plant growth, productivity, and yield by inducing morphological, physiological, and biochemical changes. This study evaluates exogenous melatonin effects on agronomic and biochemical traits of two broccoli varieties (Brassica oleracea L. var. italica Plenck) at the baby-leaves stage under [...] Read more.
Drought stress significantly affects plant growth, productivity, and yield by inducing morphological, physiological, and biochemical changes. This study evaluates exogenous melatonin effects on agronomic and biochemical traits of two broccoli varieties (Brassica oleracea L. var. italica Plenck) at the baby-leaves stage under drought stress. The varieties used were the Sicilian sprouting black broccoli, Broccolo nero (BR), and the commercial one, Cavolo Broccolo Ramoso Calabrese (CR). The experiment was conducted in a cold greenhouse in Catania, Sicily, considering two levels of melatonin (0 and 100 µmol L−1) under two irrigation regimes: 100% and 60% of pot water capacity (I100 and I60). Plant weight, SPAD index, and leaf parameters were affected by the melatonin treatment, irrigation regime, and genotypes. Total glucosinolates were highest in BR under melatonin treatment (M1) at full irrigation (I100). Significant differences were observed for glucosinolates and phenolic profiles. Specifically, CR showed significantly higher glucoraphanin content compared to BR. CR, in response to the combined M1-I60 treatment, exhibited a marked increase in total phenolic content (TPC), reaching its highest level among the tested conditions. Similarly, antioxidant capacity, evaluated through ABTS and FRAP assays, showed a significant improvement in BR under combined treatments. Additionally, the caffeic acid hexose varies from 5.11 to 8.93% for control (M0) and melatonin application (M1). These findings highlight melatonin’s potential to mitigate drought stress effects in broccoli. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Organic Fertilization Application in Vegetable and Fruit Cultivation)
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17 pages, 2596 KiB  
Article
Integration of Biochar with Vermicompost and Compost Improves Agro-Physiological Properties and Nutritional Quality of Greenhouse Sweet Pepper
by Mohamed M. EL-Mogy, Mohamed A. Adly, Mohamed M. Shahein, Hassan A. Hassan, Sayed O. Mahmoud and Emad A. Abdeldaym
Agronomy 2024, 14(11), 2603; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy14112603 - 4 Nov 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1767
Abstract
Applying organic fertilizers is an issue that is acquiring high attention in modern agriculture. This study aims to evaluate the impact of the co-application of vermicompost and biochar on the growth performance and productivity of sweet pepper plants grown under greenhouse conditions. The [...] Read more.
Applying organic fertilizers is an issue that is acquiring high attention in modern agriculture. This study aims to evaluate the impact of the co-application of vermicompost and biochar on the growth performance and productivity of sweet pepper plants grown under greenhouse conditions. The applied treatments were as follows: 100% vermicompost (T1), 75% vermicompost + 25% biochar (T2), 50% vermicompost + 50% biochar (T3), 50% biochar + 50% compost (T4), 75% compost + 25% biochar (T5), and 100% compost (control-T6). All applied treatments were distributed randomly, and each treatment was repeated three times over two seasons. The data analysis revealed that the application of vermicompost—alone or in combination with biochar—significantly increased the plant growth measurements (plant height, SPAD value, leaf area, No. of leaves, and No. of branches), leaf nutrient content (N, P, K, and Ca), and total yield in both seasons. The application of vermicompost—alone (T1) or in combination with biochar (T2 and T3)—on average over both seasons significantly increased the total yield by 31.12%, 26.47%, and 22.53%, respectively, compared with the control treatment (T6). Furthermore, the aforementioned treatments also increased the physical quality (fresh fruit weight, fruit length, fruit diameter, and flesh thickness) and chemical quality of sweet pepper fruits [total phenol content (TPC), total soluble solids (TSS), ascorbic acid (AsA), β-carotenoids (β-Carot), and titratable acidity (TA)]. In addition, the co-application of biochar with vermicompost and compost caused a significant reduction in the fruit nitrate concentration compared with the control (T6) over two seasons. In conclusion, the simultaneous application of biochar with vermicompost and compost is a promising strategy to improve the growth performance, nutrition status, total yield, and fruit quality of pepper plants, as well as to reduce the nitrate concentration in the fruits. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Organic Fertilization Application in Vegetable and Fruit Cultivation)
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Review

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29 pages, 2584 KiB  
Review
Innovative Organic Fertilizers and Cover Crops: Perspectives for Sustainable Agriculture in the Era of Climate Change and Organic Agriculture
by Muhammad Tahir Khan, Jūratė Aleinikovienė and Lina-Marija Butkevičienė
Agronomy 2024, 14(12), 2871; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy14122871 - 1 Dec 2024
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 8300
Abstract
Anthropogenic activities have resulted in land desertification in various regions of the world, leading to the degradation of critical soil characteristics such as organic matter (OM) content, nutrient stock, and prevailing biodiversity. Restoring such degraded soils through organic matter amendments and diversified crop [...] Read more.
Anthropogenic activities have resulted in land desertification in various regions of the world, leading to the degradation of critical soil characteristics such as organic matter (OM) content, nutrient stock, and prevailing biodiversity. Restoring such degraded soils through organic matter amendments and diversified crop rotations is thus an intrinsic part of organic farming. This review discusses a wide range of organic farming impacts on soil health and crop productivity by focusing on organic fertilizers and crop diversification. Conventional fertilizers were considered vital for agricultural production to harvest high crop yields. Nevertheless, they are now deemed as environmentally hazardous and an obstacle to sustainable agroecosystems due to intensive chemical inputs that damage the soil over time and have long-lasting impacts. Conventional fertilization results in nutrient depletion, loss of microbial diversity, organic matter reduction, and deterioration of physical characteristics of the soil. Conversely, organic fertilization makes use of naturally existing resources to improve soil health. Organic amendments such as biochar, manure, and fermented grass improve soil’s physical, chemical, and biological properties and promote the growth and diversity of beneficial soil microorganisms—important in nutrient cycling and soil stability. They facilitate the uptake of nutrients, hinder crop pathogen growth, mitigate heavy metals, and decompose xenobiotic organic substances. Moreover, growing cover crops is also a major strategy to improve soil health. Diversified crop rotation with combinatorial use of organic fertilizers may improve soil health and agricultural yields without any detrimental impacts on the environment and soil, ensuring sustainable food production, safety, and security. This integrated approach contributes to minimizing the use of chemical fertilizers and their effects on environmental health. It also contributes to reducing agricultural inputs along with enhancing OM, soil microbial diversity and biomass, nitrogen fixation, and carbon sequestration. Therefore, cover crops and organic fertilization may offer sustainable agroecosystems and climate change mitigation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Organic Fertilization Application in Vegetable and Fruit Cultivation)
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