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Agronomy
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Characterisation, Protection and Development of Minor Crops Adapted to Challenging...
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Characterisation, Protection and Development of Minor Crops Adapted to Challenging New Climatic Conditions

A special issue of Agronomy (ISSN 2073-4395). This special issue belongs to the section "Crop Breeding and Genetics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 August 2025 | Viewed by 3937

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Monica Boscaiu

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Guest Editor
Mediterranean Agroforestry Institute, Universitat Politècnica de València, Camino de Vera s/n, 46022 Valencia, Spain
Interests: plant ecology; abiotic stress responses; ecology of seed germination; halophytes; stress-tolerant crops
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Mariola Plazas

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Guest Editor
Institute for Conservation and Improvement of Valencian Agrodiversity, Universitat Politècnica de València, Camí de Vera 14, 46022 Valencia, Spain
Interests: breeding for quality; abiotic stress breeding; genetic diversity; phenomics; introgression breeding
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Oscar Vicente

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Guest Editor
Institute for the Conservation and Improvement of Valencian Agrodiversity (COMAV), Universitat Politècnica de València, Camino de Vera 14, 46022 Valencia, Spain
Interests: climate change; plant biotechnology; plant reproduction; abiotic stress; plant stress physiology; halophytes; drought; salinity; stress tolerance
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Current agriculture and food production worldwide is based on the commercial cultivation of a relatively low number of cultivars of a few plant species, which have been bred for improved yields under optimal growing conditions. Therefore, achieving high productivity also requires high inputs (chemical fertilisers, herbicides, pesticides) and, in many cases, irrigation. These cultivars are generally sensitive to abiotic stress factors, such as high temperatures, drought or salinity. Current environmental conditions, driven by climate change—or, rather, the climate emergency—demand urgent action, as yields of our major crops are declining in many parts of the world.

Despite some promising results, the biotechnological improvement of the abiotic stress tolerance of major commercial crops through classical breeding, genetic transformation and/or genome editing will take time. However, many other “minor” crops or cultivars, which have been neglected for producing lower yields, may be better adapted to more stressful local conditions and could be cultivated on a larger scale, helping to increase global crop yields under present and foreseeable climatic conditions. 

This Special Issue welcomes original research papers, review and mini-review articles or opinion papers on the characterisation of minor crops, their responses to environmental stress factors, using breeding to improve agronomic traits, protection, in situ and ex situ conservation and related topics.

“Minor crops” are considered in a broad sense: food and non-food crops cultivated on a small scale, landraces, varieties/cultivars of major crops grown locally or stored in seed banks, crops introduced in new areas but cultivated on a large scale elsewhere and wild species candidates for cultivation as cash crops are all considered in this Special Issue.

Prof. Dr. Monica Boscaiu
Prof. Dr. Mariola Plazas
Prof. Dr. Oscar Vicente
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

  • minor crops
  • abiotic stress tolerance
  • seedbanks
  • genetic characterization
  • breeding
  • germplasm resources

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

20 pages, 5327 KiB  
Article
Comprehensive Evaluation and Screening of Autumn-Sown Oat (Avena sativa L.) Germplasm in Different Agropastoral Regions
by Yongjie Zhang, Xinyue Wu, Qinkun Li, Xiaotian Liang, Yuzhen Zhang, Xingjia Zhang, Xiaolong Dong, Kaiquan Yu, Zilin Zhao, Xiaoling Luo, Ruizhen Yang and Yuanying Peng
Agronomy 2025, 15(4), 994; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy15040994 - 21 Apr 2025
Viewed by 231
Abstract
In light of current global challenges of climate change, the over-exploitation of natural resources, and increasing demand for livestock products, the exploration of excellent forage crop resources holds great potential for development. Therefore, selecting forage crops that are high-yield, high-quality, and have excellent [...] Read more.
In light of current global challenges of climate change, the over-exploitation of natural resources, and increasing demand for livestock products, the exploration of excellent forage crop resources holds great potential for development. Therefore, selecting forage crops that are high-yield, high-quality, and have excellent resistance to pests and diseases can greatly promote the development of the livestock industry. Oat (Avena sativa L.), a dual-purpose crop for grain and forage, plays a vital role in the development of animal husbandry. Autumn-sown oats have a significantly longer growth cycle than spring-sown oats, ensuring a year-round forage supply and achieving higher yields. The agropastoral transitional zone in southwest China is a key region for autumn-sown oats, but the systematic evaluation of oat germplasm there is still limited. Therefore, we conducted a two-growing-season (2022–2024) field experiment across four locations to evaluate nine oat genotypes for growth phenotypes, forage productivity, and nutritional quality through 11 agronomic traits and nutritional parameters during the filling stage (Zadok’s 75). The results revealed the following: (1) agronomic performance: dry matter yield (DMY) ranged from 10.72 to 14.58 t/ha, with line ‘WC109’ achieving the highest DMY (14.58 t/ha) and crude protein (CP, 9.66%); (2) nutritional quality: CP exhibited a significant negative correlation with fiber content (NDF: r = −0.72, p < 0.01; ADF: r = −0.68, p < 0.01), highlighting a yield–quality trade-off; ‘WC109’ demonstrated superior forage value, with the highest relative forage quality (RFQ: 115.45) and grading index (GI: 19.30); (3) environmental adaptation: location-specific climatic conditions significantly influenced productivity, with Wenjiang (WJ) showing optimal performance due to favorable temperature and precipitation. These results position ‘WC109’ as a promising candidate for autumn-sown cultivation in southwest China, addressing winter forage shortages while enhancing livestock nutrition. Our findings further elucidate the mechanisms linking yield and feeding value to growth performance indicators, providing references for trait-based measures to enhance forage oat productivity and quality. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Characterisation, Protection and Development of Minor Crops Adapted to Challenging New Climatic Conditions)
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20 pages, 2667 KiB  
Article
Comprehensive Evaluation of Different Oat Varieties in Semi-Arid Areas of Gansu Province
by Guanlu Zhang, Jikuan Chai, Guiqin Zhao, Liang Zeng, Wenping Wang and Kuiju Niu
Agronomy 2025, 15(3), 707; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy15030707 - 14 Mar 2025
Viewed by 406
Abstract
In light of the current global challenges, such as climate change, the overexploitation of natural resources, and increasing food demand, drought-tolerant forage crops present substantial potential for development in dryland regions. However, there is a notable gap in research that integrates yield improvement, [...] Read more.
In light of the current global challenges, such as climate change, the overexploitation of natural resources, and increasing food demand, drought-tolerant forage crops present substantial potential for development in dryland regions. However, there is a notable gap in research that integrates yield improvement, nutritional quality enhancement, and resistance to pests and diseases in the production of forage crops in semi-arid areas. Therefore, selecting oat forage varieties that exhibit high yield, superior quality, and enhanced pest resistance can substantially advance the forage industry and animal husbandry in semi-arid regions. In this study, ten oat varieties, including both domestic and international cultivars, were cultivated in a semi-arid region (Weiqi town, Gansu Province) during the 2023–2024 growing season. A comprehensive analysis was performed to assess the yield, quality, and pest resistance of these varieties. All ten oat varieties successfully completed their growth cycles. Among them, Everleaf 126 exhibited a shorter plant height compared to the other varieties, measuring 103.32 cm and 115.14 cm over two years. However, its superior leaf area and tiller number led to the highest hay yields (11,819.33 kg/ha and 13,550.67 kg/ha) and seed yields (4913.20 kg/ha and 5242.33 kg/ha). Additionally, Everleaf 126 demonstrated significantly higher leaf–stem ratios (0.35 and 0.41), crude protein content (8.52% and 9.13%), and crude fat content (2.19% and 2.69%) relative to other oat varieties (p < 0.05). Furthermore, it showed the best resistance to powdery mildew (MR), red leaf disease (HR), leaf spot disease (MR), and aphids (R). The plant height of Kona was the lowest, measuring 81.22 cm and 87.16 cm, respectively, with the fewest number of tillers and the smallest leaf area. Baler II exhibited the lowest hay yield at 8770.10 kg/ha and 7898.33 kg/ha, as well as the lowest seed yield at 3409.33 kg/ha and 3323.90 kg/ha. Kona also had the lowest leaf–stem ratio (0.19 and 10.13) and crude protein content (5.74% and 6.58%), while exhibiting the highest neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and acid detergent fiber (ADF) values. Furthermore, Kona showed the poorest resistance to powdery mildew (MS) and leaf spot (MS). Finally, based on the comprehensive evaluation analysis of the membership function, in the semi-arid region, Everleaf 126 achieved the highest overall performance based upon a comprehensive evaluation, followed by Molasses and Longyan No.3. In comparison, Kona received the poorest performance. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Characterisation, Protection and Development of Minor Crops Adapted to Challenging New Climatic Conditions)
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14 pages, 1300 KiB  
Article
Breeding Black Soybeans for High Yield and First Pod Height Is a Promising Approach to Improving Thai Commercial Soybean Varieties
by Jariya Chinnarat, Tidarat Monkham, Jirawat Sanitchon and Sompong Chankaew
Agronomy 2025, 15(3), 600; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy15030600 - 27 Feb 2025
Viewed by 539
Abstract
Black soybeans are rich in beneficial substances like anthocyanins, which help combat free radicals, and also have a high protein content. However, the soybean production system in Thailand struggles with issues relating to the use of machinery for harvesting. For efficient harvesting with [...] Read more.
Black soybeans are rich in beneficial substances like anthocyanins, which help combat free radicals, and also have a high protein content. However, the soybean production system in Thailand struggles with issues relating to the use of machinery for harvesting. For efficient harvesting with machinery, the first pod of the soybean cultivar should be positioned at a height greater than 10 cm. Thailand has not yet reported black soybean cultivars with the height of the first pod measuring 10–15 cm above the ground. Therefore, the aim of this experiment was to improve the commercial soybean varieties KKU35, SJ5, NSW1, and CM60 in Thailand by increasing their first pod height and developing black grains through crossbreeding with the KKUSB–108 soybean germplasm. Subsequently, the pedigree selection method was used to evaluate and select plants with black grains, good growth performance, and a first pod height exceeding 10 cm from the F2 to F5 generations. The selected line of F5 was selected, while the grains of the F6 generation were designated as recombinant inbred lines (RILs). Eight soybean RILs, namely KKU35xKKUSB–108–12–4–3, KKU35xKKUSB–108–24–5–7, SJ5xKKUSB–108–25–2–1, SJ5xKKUSB–108–30–3–7, NSW1xKKUSB–108–49–3–3, NSW1xKKUSB–108–49–3–6, CM60xKKUSB–108–41–1–7, and CM60xKKUSB–108–64–4–8, together with the Sukhothai 3 black soybean commercial variety, were laid out in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications at the Agronomy Field Crop Station, Khon Kaen University, over two seasons: the rainy season in 2021 and the dry season in 2022. The results revealed that the first pod height of all RILs in the rainy and dry seasons was higher than Sukhothai 3. The RILs showing a consistently high yield in both the rainy and dry seasons were SJ5xKKUSB-108-25-2-1 (1.85 and 1.86 T/ha), SJ5xKKUSB-108-30-3-7 (1.65 and 1.72 T/ha), NSW1xKKUSB-108-49-3-6 (1.52 and 1.83 T/ha), and CM60xKKUSB-108-64-4-8 (1.60 and 1.61 T/ha). Moreover, the RIL, NSW1xKKUSB-108-49-3-6, has a protein content of up to 44.21% in the dry season and shorter maturity than other RILs. This RIL can be used for cropping rotation systems in areas with limited time and water resources. This work provides a resource of black soybean RILs with high yield and first pod height for soybean breeding programs in the future. However, yield and protein content were affected by season (S), genotype (G), and the S × G interaction, indicating that RILs require a diverse environment for regional yield trials in the future. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Characterisation, Protection and Development of Minor Crops Adapted to Challenging New Climatic Conditions)
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15 pages, 2293 KiB  
Article
Tuber Development and Tuber Yield Potential of Winged Bean (Psophocarpus tetragonolobus (L.) DC.), an Alternative Crop for Animal Feed
by Teppratan Rakvong, Tidarat Monkham, Jirawat Sanitchon and Sompong Chankaew
Agronomy 2024, 14(7), 1433; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy14071433 - 30 Jun 2024
Viewed by 1939
Abstract
The winged bean is only one of the members of the leguminous species that has the potential for duo-purpose for its pod and tuber yields. The protein and nutritional content in the tuber can be used as alternative crops for animal feed. Previous [...] Read more.
The winged bean is only one of the members of the leguminous species that has the potential for duo-purpose for its pod and tuber yields. The protein and nutritional content in the tuber can be used as alternative crops for animal feed. Previous studies identified the winged bean varieties as having high potential for tuber production, although their tuber development remains unclear. This study aims to elucidate the development of winged bean tubers based on their size and weight during eight months of growth. Tuber yields of high-potential winged bean varieties (W018 and W099) were compared to commercial varieties (Ratchaburi) under field conditions over two years. The experiments were laid out in randomized complete block design with three replications in the 2021–2022 and 2022–2023 growing seasons. The tuber formation of winged bean exhibited a significant increase in tuber weight and size in the fourth month of growth in all varieties, with a gradual change from fibrous roots to tubers. Particularly in the W018 and W099 varieties, tuber development persisted up to eight months after transplanting. On the other hand, the Ratchaburi variety had small tuber size, resulting in the tubers weighing less than in the W018 and W099 varieties. The results indicated that winged bean varieties had different tuber development, with the W018 and W099 varieties being suitable for tuber harvesting at eight months. The large tuber size can be an appropriate alternative to animal feed materials. At the same time, the Ratchaburi variety requires only five months since it is cultivated primarily for tuber consumption, which is concerned with size and shape. Moreover, the yields of the W018 and W099 varieties were significantly higher compared to Ratchaburi at 22.4, 19.3, and 7.423 T/ha in the 2021–2022 growing season and 8.4, 7.9, and 5.6 T/ha in the growing season of 2022–2023, respectively. The protein content in the winged bean tubers increased to 13.00% at eight months. The years (Y) and genotypes (G) differed considerably for tuber formation. The variation in both Y and G and the shoot/root ratio are also discussed in this study. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Characterisation, Protection and Development of Minor Crops Adapted to Challenging New Climatic Conditions)
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