Physiological and Molecular Mechanisms Underlying Crop Growth, Development and Stress Adaptation Regulated by Light Environment
A special issue of Agronomy (ISSN 2073-4395). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant-Crop Biology and Biochemistry".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 September 2026 | Viewed by 172
Special Issue Editors
Interests: fruit physiology; orchard management; facility agriculture; light environment; crop growth; morphogenesis; light signal; photomorphogenesis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: plant senescence; water stress (drought, waterlogging); plant phenolics; gas exchange; photosynthetic apparatus; cereal; zearalenone
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Light is a fundamental environmental factor regulating crop growth, development, metabolism, and quality formation. The light environment—comprising light intensity, spectral quality (light composition), and the photoperiod—directly influences photosynthesis, morphogenesis, flowering, fruiting, and the synthesis of nutritional and functional compounds in plants. With the advancement of facility agriculture, controlled environment systems, and the pursuit of sustainable high-quality crop production, precise modulation of the light environment has become a key strategy for enhancing yield, optimizing resource use, and improving crop resilience.
However, in both open-field and protected cultivation, crops often face suboptimal or stressful light conditions, such as insufficient light intensity, inappropriate spectral composition, or unnatural photoperiods, which can limit photosynthetic efficiency, alter plant architecture, delay development, and reduce yield and nutritional value. Furthermore, the interaction of light with other environmental factors and its role in regulating plant physiological and molecular responses require deeper exploration. Developing smart, energy-efficient lighting strategies and understanding the underlying mechanisms of light-mediated crop adaptation are essential for modern precision agriculture and future food security.
This Special Issue invites original research and review articles addressing the following topics, among others:
- Effects of light intensity on crop photosynthesis, biomass accumulation, and yield formation;
- Influence of light quality (e.g., red/far-red, blue, UV, green light) on plant morphology, secondary metabolism, and nutritional quality;
- Regulation of flowering, dormancy, and tuberization by photoperiod and its molecular mechanisms;
- Interaction between light environment and other abiotic stresses (e.g., temperature, drought, salinity) in crop plants;
- Light signaling pathways and their crosstalk with phytohormones in governing growth and stress responses;
- Applications of LED lighting and dynamic spectrum control in facility-based vegetable, fruit, and ornamental production;
- Modeling and optimization of light distribution and utilization in canopy architectures;
- Eco-physiological and molecular basis of crop adaptation to variable natural light conditions;
- Innovations in sensing, monitoring, and artificially intelligent lighting systems for crop production.
We look forward to receiving your contributions.
Dr. Yuanji Wang
Dr. Agnieszka Ostrowska
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 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-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 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
- light environment
- morphogenesis
- photosynthesis
- artificial supplementary lighting
- facility agriculture
- smart agriculture
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