Exploiting Beneficial Plant–Microorganism Interactions for Resilient Farming
A special issue of Agronomy (ISSN 2073-4395). This special issue belongs to the section "Soil and Plant Nutrition".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 February 2025) | Viewed by 2295
Special Issue Editors
Interests: soil microbiology; agricultural microbiology; plant beneficial microorganisms; biofertilizer; phosphorus biogeochemistry
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: industrial microbiology; bioreactors and fermentation processes; cell and enzyme immobilization; biotechnological production of enzymes, organic acids, biofuels; plant microbiome; plant-microbial interactions; microbial mineral dissolution; production and formulation of soil inoculants
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
In natural environments, plants rely on microorganisms to deal with biotic and abiotic stresses, outsourcing to the microbial partner important functions like water and nutrient acquisition and defense against pathogens and pests. However, most plant breeding programs have ignored these beneficial interactions, shaping crops to rely on intensive applications of chemical fertilizers and defensives instead. Therefore, plant domestication has provoked significant changes in the plant microbiome and has caused the loss of plants’ ability to establish some beneficial interactions. The reinstatement of these beneficial interactions is essential for making crops more efficient and less dependent on agrochemicals. Many attempts at progress related to microorganisms have been made, with a long history of research on inoculants and biological control agents, and many of them have reached the market as biological formulations. However, we still exploit a small fraction of the available microbial diversity. At the same time, plant strategies are scarce, and this may be impairing the success of microbial applications due to plants’ inability to establish a relationship with applied microorganisms.
In this Special Issue, we seek to highlight integrative studies showing novel plant- or microorganism-based strategies to reinstate beneficial plant–microorganism interactions for resilient farming. We will also consider reviews that clearly systematize existing knowledge and point out research gaps and new perspectives.
Dr. Gilberto de Oliveira Mendes
Prof. Dr. Nikolay Vassilev
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
- soil microbiology
- plant breeding
- inoculant
- biological control
- biofertilizer
- nutrient cycling
- biotic stress
- abiotic stress
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.
- e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.
