Balancing Plant Robustness to Stress and Product Quality in Crops—Breeding Perspectives and Fundamental Studies

Dear Colleagues,

Plants with higher abiotic stress tolerance, disease and pest resistance and of a better quality have been a longstanding goal of plant breeders. However, the elimination of wild germplasm and landraces leads to the loss of disease resistance and quality genes. Furthermore, selection or biotechnological enforcement for either quality parameters or agronomic benefits may unintentionally compromise the other unless a holistic view is taken.

The present challenges in agriculture include climate change, pollution, disease and pest adaptation, restrictions of available land, nutrients and water and the need to minimize emissions of N and greenhouse gases. On the other hand, breeding for quality parameters such as health benefits, shelf life and taste are likewise important breeding goals.

For this Special Issue, we invite studies that take a holistic view on classical as well as biotechnological breeding and consider field performance parameters as well as product quality. We likewise invite fundamental studies investigating the effects of plant characters on a comprehensive scale as well as crop wild relatives that are used to increasing crop gene pools.

A comprehensive approach to crop quality is what unites this Special Issue. With respect to specific study types, this special issue will include essentially any methodology and scale, from macroscopic crop features, classic agronomy and genetics to molecular genetics, biochemistry and omics methods. It will also explore any kind of genetic modification, genome editing, or systematic use of random mutant libraries.

Dr. Xiaohui Zhang
Dr. Niels Agerbirk
Dr. Wenlong Yang
Guest Editors

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• plant
• resistant
• quality
• genetics
• breeding