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Integrated Approaches to Enhancing Crop Productivity: Molecular, Hormonal, and Agronomic...
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Integrated Approaches to Enhancing Crop Productivity: Molecular, Hormonal, and Agronomic Perspectives

A Special Issue of Agronomy (ISSN 2073-4395) belonging to the section "Plant-Crop Biology and Biochemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 August 2026) | Viewed by 5008

Editor

Prof. Dr. Chengqiang Ding

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Agronomy, College of Agriculture, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China
Interests: cytokinin; metabolism; signaling; rice
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Background and history of this topic: Hormonal signaling is central to plant development, enabling dynamic responses to environmental stimuli and resource availability.

Aim and scope of this Special Issue: This Special Issue explores the multifaceted roles of plant hormones in driving crop growth, stress adaptation, and yield optimization. It focuses particularly on innovative and integrative research approaches. By bridging fundamental discoveries with translational research, this Special Issue aims to publish novel insights into the development of sustainable agricultural practices and the cultivation of resilient crop varieties. Ultimately, it  addresses global challenges in food security and environmental sustainability.

Cutting-edge research: This Special Issue will focus on the application of advanced methodologies such as high-resolution multi-omics, single-cell transcriptomics, and precision agricultural technologies in order to study hormone-mediated processes.

What kind of papers we are soliciting: This Special Issue aims to shed light on emerging and underexplored areas of hormonal regulation. These include noncanonical signaling pathways, interactions between hormones and epigenetic modifications, and their potential for crop improvement. We encourage contributions that delve into the integration of hormonal crosstalk with molecular pathways, uncovering the mechanisms by which plants optimize resource use under biotic and abiotic stresses. Additionally, research leveraging AI-driven modeling to predict and manipulate hormonal pathways for crop resilience and productivity is of particular interest.

Prof. Dr. Chengqiang Ding
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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

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-anonymized 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 semimonthly 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

  • plant hormone signaling
  • crop stress resilience
  • hormonal crosstalk
  • yield optimization
  • sustainable agriculture

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

27 pages, 2386 KB  
Article
Two-Year Field Trial Assessing Overwinter Survival, Bolting, and Productivity of Autumn-Sown Sugar Beet Varieties at Northern Mediterranean Latitudes
by Riccardo Boscaro, Anna Panozzo, Pranay Kumar Bolla, Francesco Valente, Guido Carraro, Mauro Agnoletto and Teofilo Vamerali
Agronomy 2026, 16(11), 1060; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy16111060 - 27 May 2026
Viewed by 537
Abstract
Conventional spring sowing of sugar beet in Europe faces increasing constraints from summer drought, high temperatures, and Cercospora beticola pressure due to climate change. This two-year field trial (2021–2022 and 2022–2023) evaluated the feasibility of autumn-sown sugar beet at a northern Mediterranean site [...] Read more.
Conventional spring sowing of sugar beet in Europe faces increasing constraints from summer drought, high temperatures, and Cercospora beticola pressure due to climate change. This two-year field trial (2021–2022 and 2022–2023) evaluated the feasibility of autumn-sown sugar beet at a northern Mediterranean site in Legnaro (Padua, NE Italy, 45°21′ N). Nine varieties were assessed across four sowing dates in 2021 (late September to early November) and two sowing dates in 2022 (late September and late October). Measurements included overwinter survival, bolting incidence at two reproductive stages, fresh root and above-ground biomass yield at sequential harvest dates, and root soluble solids (°Brix). Post-winter mortality was negligible following September and early-October sowings, moderate after late-October sowings (17.3% in 2021; 13.2% in 2022), and extremely high after early-November sowing (81.5%). These patterns indicated that winter survival was more strongly determined by crop developmental stage before winter than by seasonal minimal temperatures recorded in two seasons (−3.6 °C and −6.3 °C, respectively). Bolting incidence showed the opposite trend, reaching near-complete or complete expression in the earliest sowings regardless of variety choice. In late-October sowings, clear varietal differences emerged. Some varieties combined low bolting incidence with high root yields, reaching 81.1–84.4 t ha−1 at the final harvest (early August 2023). Root juice soluble solids were higher in the drier 2021–2022 season (exceeding 20 °Brix in several cases) than in the wetter 2022–2023 season (consistently below 17.5 °Brix), reflecting dilution effects associated with the different seasonal precipitation. In the sequential harvest series of late-October 2022 sowing, later harvest dates were generally associated with lower soluble solids. These results indicate that, within the autumn sowing window evaluated, late-October sowing combined with appropriate varietal selection provided the best balance between overwinter survival, bolting incidence, and root yield at this northern Mediterranean latitude. Future multi-site studies, including spring-sown controls, could enable direct comparison with conventional sowing practice. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Integrated Approaches to Enhancing Crop Productivity: Molecular, Hormonal, and Agronomic Perspectives)
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16 pages, 1464 KB  
Article
Exogenous β-Glucan Promotes Growth and Exerts Regulatory Effects in Rice
by Meng-Ting He, Meng-Yan Li, Jian-Bin Chen, Jiao Du, Xiao-Hua Du, Yue Chen, Xiao-Bin Shi and De-Yong Zhang
Agronomy 2026, 16(5), 503; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy16050503 - 25 Feb 2026
Viewed by 1354
Abstract
Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is a highly valued staple food that is widely consumed worldwide. As the global population continues to grow rapidly, enhancing rice yields becomes essential to meet the increasing demand. β-Glucan has been recognized as a novel immunomodulatory agent. [...] Read more.
Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is a highly valued staple food that is widely consumed worldwide. As the global population continues to grow rapidly, enhancing rice yields becomes essential to meet the increasing demand. β-Glucan has been recognized as a novel immunomodulatory agent. In the present study, we observed that β-glucan stimulates the growth of rice plants and activates the photosynthetic pathway. To explore the underlying molecular mechanisms, we conducted transcriptome sequencing and molecular validation on rice plants treated with either water or β-glucan. Our findings revealed that, compared to plants treated with water, those exposed to β-glucan exhibited a significant increase in the relative expression of genes linked to chloroplast development and photosynthesis. Additionally, we identified a total of 821 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between rice plants treated with water and those treated with 50 mg/L of β-glucan, with 373 genes showing upregulation and 448 showing downregulation. Evaluations from the volcano plot, Gene Ontology (GO) functional annotation, and enrichment analysis indicated that these DEGs were mainly enriched in biological processes associated with carbohydrate metabolism and biomass regulation. This study concludes that β-glucan effectively enhances rice growth by improving photosynthetic efficiency. The results provide important insights into the application of exogenous β-glucan for boosting rice productivity. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Integrated Approaches to Enhancing Crop Productivity: Molecular, Hormonal, and Agronomic Perspectives)
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20 pages, 1448 KB  
Article
Exogenous Melatonin Modulates Drought Response and Recovery in Wheat with Contrasting Grain Colour
by Martin Zelený, Kamil Kraus, Tomáš Müller and Helena Hniličková
Agronomy 2026, 16(2), 237; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy16020237 - 20 Jan 2026
Viewed by 599
Abstract
Melatonin is recognised as a multifunctional regulatory molecule that enhances plant tolerance to abiotic stresses, but its effectiveness is often strongly genotype-dependent. This study aimed to elucidate how exogenous melatonin (200 µM) modulates the physiological and biochemical responses of wheat during drought and [...] Read more.
Melatonin is recognised as a multifunctional regulatory molecule that enhances plant tolerance to abiotic stresses, but its effectiveness is often strongly genotype-dependent. This study aimed to elucidate how exogenous melatonin (200 µM) modulates the physiological and biochemical responses of wheat during drought and subsequent recovery in two genotypes with contrasting grain pigmentation: the standard cv. Bohemia (red grain) and an experimental purple-pericarp (PP) line. Plants were exposed to drought at the early vegetative stage (BBCH 15), and gas exchange, leaf water potential, and biochemical markers (proline, malondialdehyde, phenolics, and flavonoids) were assessed during drought and after rehydration. In cv. Bohemia, water deficit led to a pronounced decrease in CO2 assimilation, stomatal conductance, and leaf water potential, accompanied by strong increases in proline (Pro) and malondialdehyde (MDA). Melatonin application in this genotype markedly reduced the accumulation of Pro and MDA and accelerated the recovery of gas exchange, indicating a significant protective effect. The lower Pro levels in melatonin-treated Bohemia plants suggest that melatonin mitigated the perceived stress intensity, thereby reducing the physiological demand for osmotic adjustment. In contrast, the PP line exhibited higher inherent stability of the photosynthetic apparatus and more moderate biochemical shifts; its recovery was almost complete and independent of melatonin. Overall, these results indicate that the functional benefit of exogenous melatonin is greater in genotypes with a lower intrinsic stress-buffering capacity. This study highlights the importance of considering constitutive genotype traits and the recovery phase when using physiological regulators to improve wheat drought resilience. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Integrated Approaches to Enhancing Crop Productivity: Molecular, Hormonal, and Agronomic Perspectives)
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18 pages, 10522 KB  
Article
Genome-Wide Association Study of Agricultural and Biochemical Traits in Radiation-Induced Colored Wheat
by Min Jeong Hong, Chan Seop Ko and Dae Yeon Kim
Agronomy 2025, 15(8), 1933; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy15081933 - 11 Aug 2025
Viewed by 1698
Abstract
Colored wheat lines, which feature elevated anthocyanin content and associated traits, represent valuable genetic resources for enhancing the plant’s nutritional and aesthetic properties. This genome-wide association study (GWAS) utilized a set of radiation-induced mutant lines to identify genetic loci linked to agricultural and [...] Read more.
Colored wheat lines, which feature elevated anthocyanin content and associated traits, represent valuable genetic resources for enhancing the plant’s nutritional and aesthetic properties. This genome-wide association study (GWAS) utilized a set of radiation-induced mutant lines to identify genetic loci linked to agricultural and biochemical traits. The GWAS models Fixed and Random Model Circulating Probability Unification, and the Bayesian-information and Linkage-Disequilibrium Iteratively Nested Keyway were employed to increase the reliability of marker–trait associations (MTAs). In total, 35 significant MTAs were identified, and seven single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were commonly detected by both models. To explore candidate genes, a ± 1.5-Mb window around each significant SNP was analyzed according to the estimated linkage disequilibrium decay, revealing 635 genes. Among these, several genes were annotated as transcription factors and enzymes associated with flavonoid biosynthesis and modification, including MYB, WD-repeat proteins, and UDP-glycosyltransferases. Expression profiling and RT-qPCR further supported the functional relevance of selected SNP–gene pairs, particularly for anthocyanin accumulation and seed color variation. In summary, the integration of GWAS, gene annotation, and expression data could provide valuable insights into the genetic basis of complex traits in wheat, providing data for future molecular studies and marker-assisted breeding of colored wheat mutant cultivars. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Integrated Approaches to Enhancing Crop Productivity: Molecular, Hormonal, and Agronomic Perspectives)
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