Environmental and Genetic Regulation of Fruit Development and Quality

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 January 2026 | Viewed by 35

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Apple Research Center, National Institute of Horticultural and Herbal Science, Rural Development Administration, Gunwi-gun, Daegu 43100, Republic of Korea
Interests: plant molecular biology; fruit quality; horticulture; plant physiology; plant genetics; plant nutrition
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Apple Research Center, National Institute of Horticultural and Herbal Science, Rural Development Administration, Gunwi-gun, Daegu 43100, Republic of Korea
Interests: plant molecular biology; horticulture; plant physiology; fruit quality; gene expression

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Fruit development, quality, and coloration are complex traits influenced by environmental conditions, genetic factors, or their synergistic interaction. As the consumer demand for nutritious, visually appealing, and high-quality fruits continues to rise, uncovering the molecular and physiological mechanisms behind these traits has become a major focus in horticultural and agricultural research.

Environmental factors such as light, temperature, soil nutrients, tree physiology, and chemical treatments significantly affect fruit traits. Light, for instance, regulates pigment biosynthesis, directly influencing coloration, while stress conditions can modify sugar and acid metabolism, thereby affecting flavor and texture. Among these traits, fruit coloration is largely determined by pigment biosynthesis governed by the anthocyanin and carotenoid pathways. Simultaneously, recent advances in genomics, transcriptomics, and gene-editing technologies have greatly enhanced our understanding of the genetic networks that interact with environmental signals. Key regulators—including transcription factors, hormone signaling cascades, and epigenetic modifications—play pivotal roles in controlling fruit development, ripening, and pigmentation.

This Special Issue invites original research articles, reviews, and case studies that investigate the environmental and/or genetic regulation of fruit traits. We particularly welcome contributions exploring molecular mechanisms, omics-based insights, gene-editing applications, and environmental influences across diverse fruit species. Our aim is to highlight innovative strategies for improving fruit quality and advancing sustainable agriculture.

Dr. Seonae Kim
Dr. Van Giap Do
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

  • fruit development
  • fruit quality
  • fruit coloration
  • environmental factors
  • genetic factor
  • pigment content

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Published Papers

This special issue is now open for submission.
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