Disease Control Strategies in Fruit Crops
A special issue of Agronomy (ISSN 2073-4395). This special issue belongs to the section "Horticultural and Floricultural Crops".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 May 2020) | Viewed by 8130
Special Issue Editors
Interests: plant pathology; plant protection; integrated pest management; crop protection fungal plant pathology; biological control of plant diseases
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Fruit crops are affected by a number of diseases caused by bacteria, fungi, oomycetes, viruses, virus-like organisms, and nematodes. Some of these pathogens are vectored by arthropods and cause lethal diseases, resulting in wide socioeconomic impact. The geographical range of some pathogens is expanding as a result of growing global trade and climate change. In contrast to annual crops, perennial fruit crops last for a number of years, and thus, long-term strategic decisions on disease management are critical. Cultivar and rootstock selection as well as site planning should be defined before orchard establishment. Also, short-term tactical decisions, like pesticide sprays and cultural practices, should be planned and implemented for proper disease management. Nowadays, the use of pesticides should comply with stringent regulations worldwide, aiming to reduce the risks and impacts on human health and the environment and to avoid the development of pathogen resistance. Cultural control measures, such as sanitation pruning, irrigation, and ground cover management, as well as alternative non-chemical methods are becoming increasingly important in disease control. These approaches are particularly important in integrated pest management and organic fruit production, where the use of chemicals is much more limited. Moreover, spray-drift reduction methods are being promoted to ensure more efficient foliar application of pesticides. Decision support systems may assist in reducing the amount of spraying.
We invite experts and researchers in the field to contribute original research articles, reviews, and opinion pieces addressing disease control in fruit crops. Papers on all types of biotic diseases will be considered in this Special Issue. Disease control is understood in its broad sense, including exclusion, eradication, protection, and resistance. Fruit crops are considered in the widest sense as cultivated trees, woody vines, shrubs, or subshrubs that yield fleshy or hard edible fruits or seeds. Works on minor and tropical-subtropical fruit crops are also welcome. Specific topics of interest include, among others, chemical, biological, and cultural disease control; soil disinfestation; pesticide application methods; pesticide resistance; reduced doses; fungicide models; decision support systems; legal bases of disease control; cultivar selection; and breeding for resistance.
Dr. Antonio Vicent
Dr. Elisa Gonzalez-Dominguez
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 crops
- disease control
- plant pathology
- plant protection
- decision support systems
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