Efficient Water Management in High-Value Crops at Different Spatial Scales
A special issue of Agronomy (ISSN 2073-4395). This special issue belongs to the section "Water Use and Irrigation".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 March 2026 | Viewed by 4
Special Issue Editors
Interests: irrigation; crop modeling; sustainable agriculture; plant ecophysiology; soil management and quality; viticulture; fruit trees; crop water requirements; biodiversity; ecology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: agronomy; deficit irrigation, evapotranspiration; irrigation water management; nut crops; plant physiology; salinity; stress physiology; water relations
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Water conservation and management is essential for the long-term sustainability of agroecosystems, especially in arid and semi-arid regions. In the case of high-valued crops, such as vineyards, nut crops, and fruit trees, for instance, water conservation and management a serious concern due to the large acreage of these crops worldwide under different climatic conditions and the high inputs required for growing them. Indeed, the optimization of water management is critical for agricultural sustainability, especially in actual climatic contexts (higher air temperatures, severe drought and heat waves, etc.), since crop yield, quality, and economic viability largely depend on water availability.
This Special Issue aims to collect original and quantitative research on water management in high-value crops (i.e., fruit orchards, olive groves, vineyards, citrus, berries, nut crops, etc.), including the following topics:
- Research on irrigation management strategies (deficit irrigation, partial rootzone drying, etc.) aiming to save water while maintaining yield and crop quality, especially when employing alternative water sources (such as saline or reclaimed water);
- Studies of other cultural practices that allow for saving water in orchards (mulching, cover crops, canopy management, cultivar and rootstock selection, etc.);
- Studies focused on the effects of climate change on water availability for high-valued crops, either in the field or under controlled conditions;
- Works using novel techniques for estimating crop water requirements at different application scales (plant, orchard, watershed) with remote sensing technologies.
The proposed topic can be considered from many viewpoints, and we encourage authors working in the fields of crop modeling and upscaling to submit their manuscripts for consideration.
Dr. José Manuel Mirás-Avalos
Dr. Sara Álvarez
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
- alternative water sources
- crop water requirements
- cultural practices
- deficit irrigation strategies
- evapotranspiration
- plant physiology
- remote sensing
- water use efficiency
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
- Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
- Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
- Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
- External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
- Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.
