Legacy of Traditional Maize: Resilience, Quality and Lost Genes
A special issue of Agronomy (ISSN 2073-4395). This special issue belongs to the section "Agroecology Innovation: Achieving System Resilience".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 June 2026 | Viewed by 12
Special Issue Editors
Interests: breeding; molecular plant breeding; plant genetics; plant genomics; agrobiodiversity; germplasm bank
Interests: breeding; molecular plant breeding; plant genetics; plant genomics; agrobiodiversity; germplasm bank
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Agrobiodiversity, shaped by centuries of human and natural selection, has been the foundation of civilizations, providing food, feed, fiber, medicines, fuel, and other essential products. Traditional farmers’ practices created a genetic legacy that represents the cornerstone of today’s modern varieties. However, intensive breeding and the adoption of molecular tools, while accelerating variety development, have, in some cases, narrowed the genetic base of cultivated species, limiting resilience and productivity.
This Special Issue, “Legacy of Traditional Maize: Resilience, Quality and Lost Genes”, aims to highlight innovative research on the conservation, valorization, and breeding of maize genetic resources. Particular emphasis will be given to studies addressing the recovery of valuable traits from landraces, traditional cultivars, and wild relatives through pre-breeding and molecular plant breeding approaches.
Contributions are invited that explore maize agrobiodiversity across different levels from species and varieties to ecological contexts and employing diverse methodologies, including in situ and ex situ germplasm bank research, plant genetics, genome studies, pre-breeding and breeding strategies, and molecular breeding. By integrating past genetic legacies with modern approaches, this Special Issue seeks to promote a more resilient and sustainable future for maize cultivation. We invite contributions from experts working at different system levels, including species, varieties, and ecological contexts employing diverse research methodologies.
Dr. Martina Ghidoli
Prof. Dr. Roberto Pilu
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
- breeding
- molecular breeding
- plant genetics
- plant genomics
- agrobiodiversity
- germplasm bank
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