Application of Essential Oils and Terpenoids in Weed, Pest and Plant Disease Control
A special issue of Agronomy (ISSN 2073-4395). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant-Crop Biology and Biochemistry".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 November 2025 | Viewed by 69
Special Issue Editor
Interests: phytoremediation; plant anatomy; cell ultrastructure; plant histology; air pollution; microscopy; essential oils
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Synthetic pesticides have been widely used to increase crop yield by reducing competition from weeds and pests. However, concerns about their environmental and health impacts have arisen, as they can cause long-term ecological harm, even when used according to recommended guidelines. This has led to growing interest in natural alternatives, such as terpenoids, which are naturally occurring compounds with potent pest-suppressing properties. These compounds, found in essential oils (EOs), show promise as natural, sustainable alternatives to synthetic herbicides for pest control.
This Special Issue aims to highlight the role of essential oils and terpenoids in integrated pest management (IPM) as sustainable alternatives to synthetic pesticides. It explores how these natural compounds, derived from plant secondary metabolism, can be used to control a range of pests, including insects, mites, nematodes, and plant diseases caused by fungi. This Special Issue also aims to explore encapsulation technologies, which enhance the stability and controlled release of essential oils and the mechanisms through which essential oils and terpenoids exert their effects, boosting their potential as bioherbicides, bioinsecticides, and biofungicides.
We invite original research articles presenting novel findings on the use of essential oils and terpenoids for controlling weeds, pests, and plant diseases, as well as comprehensive review articles that summarize key advances and future directions in the field.
Dr. Irina Neta Gostin
Guest Editor
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
- essential oils
- terpenoids
- biopesticides
- weed control
- pest management
- plant diseases
- encapsulation technologies
- phytotoxicity
- sustainable agriculture
- integrated pest management
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