Advances in Light Management and Controlled-Environment Agriculture for Enhancing Crop Growth, Yield 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 June 2026 | Viewed by 19
Special Issue Editors
Interests: light quality perception and photoregulation of plant development, and plants’ adaptation to other organisms in micropropagation and during phase changes; genetic, epigenetic, and molecular physiology of plant stress tolerance and plants’ adaptation to their environments; genetic and molecular physiology of flower and fruit development and the accumulation of secondary metabolites
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: plant micropropagation; seed dormancy and germination; abiotic stress; conservative agriculture
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: plant physiology; plant nutrition; postharvest; protected cropping; plant genomics; environmental stress biology; greenhouse horticulture; controlled-environment agriculture; climate change
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Light management plays a pivotal role in modern crop production, particularly under controlled environments such as greenhouses, vertical farms, and in vitro systems. The spectral quality, intensity, and photoperiod of light strongly influence plant morphogenesis, physiology, metabolism, and stress responses. Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) provide precise control over specific wavelengths, enabling targeted regulation of key physiological processes, including phototropism, chloroplast movement, stomatal function, and activation of metabolic pathways related to growth and stress tolerance.
This Special Issue aims to gather cutting-edge research on the effects of light quality and light management strategies on crop growth, yields, and nutritional quality. We welcome studies exploring fundamental plant responses to light, as well as applied research on controlled-environment agriculture, including indoor, greenhouse, and vertical farming systems. Topics may include, but are not limited to, the optimization of light spectra for different crop species, photoregulation of secondary-metabolite accumulation, enhancement of stress resilience through light manipulation, and integration of sustainable lighting solutions into precision agriculture.
By combining advances in plant science, photobiology, and controlled-environment technologies, this Special Issue seeks to highlight innovative strategies for improving crop productivity, quality, and sustainability in diverse cultivation systems.
Dr. Rosario Muleo
Dr. Valeria Cavallaro
Dr. Sachin Chavan
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
- light management
- controlled-environment agriculture
- crop growth
- crop yield
- crop quality
- light spectrum optimization
- light intensity
- photoperiod
- LED lighting
- photophysiology
- plant morphogenesis
- light-regulated metabolism
- secondary-metabolite accumulation
- stress resilience
- greenhouse cultivation
- vertical farming
- indoor farming
- precision agriculture
- sustainable lighting
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