Epidemiology and Integrated Management Strategies for Current and Emerging Crop Diseases
A special issue of Agronomy (ISSN 2073-4395). This special issue belongs to the section "Pest and Disease Management".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 May 2026 | Viewed by 4
Special Issue Editor
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The epidemiology of plant diseases is one of the fundamental pillars of phytopathology, with the objective of minimizing, rationalizing and economizing the external management processes that are necessary to maintain the stability of the agricultural pathosystem. To this end, understanding the structure and behavior of the system is essential. By understanding the spatiotemporal dynamics of diseases and their interactions (pathogen–host–environment, pathogen–host–environment–vectors, and pathogen–host–environment–management strategies), it is possible to define the most appropriate management strategy to be implemented, as well as the timing, number of interventions, and their cost–benefit ratio. In a scenario of global climate change, with numerous uncertainties, changes in the relative importance of each disease, and the emergence of new pathogens, traditional disease management paradigms are being challenged, which makes it even more important to continuously understand the epidemiological factors related to the development of diseases in order to provide greater resilience to the systems. Additionally, society has been putting pressure on the agricultural sector to seek healthy and food-safe foods. The disease management pillar is crucial when considering sustainability (economic, ecological, environmental, and social), which can only be achieved by understanding the full complexity of current and emerging phytosanitary threats. This Special Issue, Epidemiology and Integrated Management Strategies for Current and Emerging Crop Diseases, seeks high-impact contributions that promote the theoretical and practical development of epidemiology, methodological innovations, and applications of epidemiology in the rational integrated management of plant diseases. Emphasis will be given to inter and multidisciplinary approaches that focus on epidemiological modeling, risk assessment, disease quantification systems, remote sensing, quantification of yield losses, integrated management strategies (cultural, physical, biological, chemical, and genetic), cost–benefit assessment of management strategies, and artificial intelligence applied to epidemiology, among others. We invite submissions of original research articles, literature reviews, and case studies that critically address the landscape of epidemiology applied to plant disease management, particularly taking into account climate change, emerging pathosystems, and scalable integrated management strategies in the context of globalized agriculture.
Prof. Dr. Waldir Cintra De Jesus Júnior
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
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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
- plant disease epidemiology
- integrated disease management (IDM)
- climate change and crop pathosystems
- disease forecasting and risk modeling
- emerging and re-emerging phytopathogens
- artificial intelligence
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