Improving Nutritional and Functional Quality of Horticultural Crops Through Biofortification Approaches
A special issue of Agronomy (ISSN 2073-4395). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant-Crop Biology and Biochemistry".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 April 2026 | Viewed by 18
Special Issue Editors
Interests: sustainable agriculture; food quality; horticultural crops and abiotic stress response; functional foods
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: molecular markers; horticultural crops and abiotic stress response; genome editing; biofortification; tree genetic population
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Biofortification has become a key strategy for enhancing the nutritional and functional value of horticultural crops, contributing to food security, sustainability, and human health. While agronomic biofortification through the application of mineral fertilizers and biostimulants offers a practical method for improving micronutrient content and crop performance, conventional breeding and genome editing (e.g., CRISPR/Cas) are expanding opportunities to achieve more targeted and durable enhancements.
This Special Issue focuses on biofortification strategies which use either agronomic, genetic, biotechnological tools, or a combination thereof to improve yield, resilience and the accumulation of health-promoting compounds in horticultural crops. We welcome original research and reviews addressing nutrient dynamics, soil–plant interactions, genotype × environment × management (G × E × M) interactions, and innovative fertilization or genome-based techniques. Potential topics may include enhancement of micronutrients and phytochemicals, metabolic and transcriptional responses, improvement of postharvest quality, and contributions to the development of functional foods.
Interdisciplinary contributions that link plant nutrition, physiology, breeding, molecular biology, and food science are of particular interest. By highlighting both scientific advances and practical applications, this Special Issue aims to provide a comprehensive view of current advances in biofortification and foster new insights for the development of nutrient-enriched horticultural crops adapted to future agricultural and nutritional challenges.
Dr. Rachele Tamburino
Dr. Paolo Iovieno
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
- biofortification
- food quality
- food security
- micronutrient enrichment
- horticultural crops
- CRISPR/Cas
- sustainable agriculture
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