Announcements

1. “Metabolic Profiling of Organic Acids Reveals the Involvement of HuIPMS2 in Citramalic Acid Synthesis in Pitaya”
by Jiaxuan Chen, Yuanju Yuan, Fangfang Xie, Zhike Zhang, Jianye Chen, Rong Zhang, Jietang Zhao, Guibing Hu and Yonghua Qin
Horticulturae 2022, 8(2), 167; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae8020167
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2311-7524/8/2/167

2. “Effects of Light Intensity and Temperature on the Photosynthesis Characteristics and Yield of Lettuce”
by Jing Zhou, Pingping Li and Jizhang Wang
Horticulturae 2022, 8(2), 178; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae8020178
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2311-7524/8/2/178

3. “Impact of Pseudomonas sp. SVB-B33 on Stress- and Cell Wall-Related Genes in Roots and Leaves of Hemp under Salinity”
by Roberto Berni, Jean-Francois Hausman, Silas Villas-Boas and Gea Guerriero
Horticulturae 2022, 8(4), 336; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae8040336
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2311-7524/8/4/336

4. “Hormonal Signaling in the Progamic Phase of Fertilization in Plants”
by Ekaterina V. Zakharova, Marat R. Khaliluev and Lidia V. Kovaleva
Horticulturae 2022, 8(5), 365; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae8050365
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2311-7524/8/5/365

5. “Functional Analysis of Two Terpene Synthase Genes Isolated from the Flowers of Hosta ‘So Sweet’”
by Baiqi Cui, Xue Zhao, Guoshuang Chen, Shijie Qin, Yitong Liu, Zhilin Han, Qian Yan, Luwen Han, Sijia Liu and Shuying Liu
Horticulturae 2022, 8(5), 447; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae8050447
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2311-7524/8/5/447

6. “Biotechnological Interventions for Reducing the Juvenility in Perennials”
by Pooja Manchanda, Maninder Kaur, Shweta Sharma and Gurupkar Singh Sidhu
Horticulturae 2023, 9(1), 33; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae9010033
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2311-7524/9/1/33

7. “Shoot Development through Modified Transverse Thin Cell Layer (tTCL) Culture of Phalaenopsis Hybrid Protocorms”
by Kuo-Chin Lo, Jualang Azlan Gansau, Chia-Hung Shih and Chien-Yuan Kao
Horticulturae 2022, 8(3), 206; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae8030206
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2311-7524/8/3/206

8. “Irrigation Levels and Fertilization Rates as Pre-Harvest Factors Affecting the Growth and Quality of Hippeastrum”
by Chaiartid Inkham, Kanokwan Panjama and Soraya Ruamrungsri
Horticulturae 2022, 8(4), 345; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae8040345
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2311-7524/8/4/345

9. “Cold Treatment Modulates Changes in Primary Metabolites and Flowering of Cut Flower Tulip Hybrids”
by Petronia Carillo, Giovanna Marta Fusco, Rosaria Serena Del Gaudio, Stefania De Pascale and Roberta Paradiso
Horticulturae 2022, 8(5), 371; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae8050371
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2311-7524/8/5/371 

10. “Combined Nano Silver, α-Aminoisobutyric Acid, and 1-Methylcyclopropene Treatment Delays the Senescence of Cut Roses with Different Ethylene Sensitivities”
by Suong Tuyet Thi Ha and Byung-Chun In
Horticulturae 2022, 8(6), 482; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae8060482
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2311-7524/8/6/482

11. “Effect of Flavonoid Dynamic Changes on Flower Coloration of Tulipa gesneiana ‘Queen of Night’ during Flower Development”
by Xueying Guo, Xueqing Fu, Xin Li and Dongqin Tang
Horticulturae 2022, 8(6), 510; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae8060510 
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2311-7524/8/6/510

12. “The Emotional Experience of Flowers: Zoomed In, Zoomed Out and Painted”
by Jacqueline Urakami, Ephrat Huss, Mitsue Nagamine, Johanna Czamanski-Cohen and Michele Zaccai
Horticulturae 2022, 8(7), 668; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae8070668
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2311-7524/8/7/668

We would like to thank all the research groups behind these exceptional papers for their contributions to Horticulturae (ISSN: 2311-7524). You are welcome to circulate this announcement among your colleagues or through your network.

1. “An Academic and Technical Overview on Plant Micropropagation Challenges”
by Neama Abdalla, Hassan El-Ramady, Mayada K. Seliem, Mohammed E. El-Mahrouk, Naglaa Taha, Yousry Bayoumi, Tarek A. Shalaby and Judit Dobránszki
Horticulturae 2022, 8(8), 677; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae8080677
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2311-7524/8/8/677

2. “Inheritance of Apple (Malus × domestica (L.) Borkh) Resistance against Apple Scab (Venturia inaequalis (Cooke) Wint.) in Hybrid Breeding Material Obtained by Gene Pyramiding”
by Kristīne Zelmene, Katrīna Kārkliņa, Laila Ikase and Gunārs Lācis
Horticulturae 2022, 8(9), 772; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae8090772
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2311-7524/8/9/772

3. “Insights into Factors Controlling Adventitious Root Formation in Apples”
by Muhammad Mobeen Tahir, Jiangping Mao, Shaohuan Li, Ke Li, Yu Liu, Yun Shao, Dong Zhang and Xiaoyun Zhang
Horticulturae 2022, 8(4), 276; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae8040276
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2311-7524/8/4/276

4. “Integrated Volatile Metabolomics and Transcriptomics Analyses Reveal the Influence of Infection TuMV to Volatile Organic Compounds in Brassica rapa”
by Xinxin Lu, Lei Zhang, Wenyue Huang, Shujiang Zhang, Shifan Zhang, Fei Li, Hui Zhang, Rifei Sun, Jianjun Zhao and Guoliang Li
Horticulturae 2022, 8(1), 57; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae8010057
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2311-7524/8/1/57

5. “Rapid Identification of Apple Maturity Based on Multispectral Sensor Combined with Spectral Shape Features”
by Mengsheng Zhang, Maosheng Shen, Yuge Pu, Hao Li, Bo Zhang, Zhongxiong Zhang, Xiaolin Ren and Juan Zhao
Horticulturae 2022, 8(5), 361; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae8050361
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2311-7524/8/5/361

6. “Genome-Wide Identification and Expression Analysis of AMT Gene Family in Apple (Malus domestica Borkh.)”
by Linlin Huang, Jiazhen Li, Bin Zhang, Yanyan Hao and Fengwang Ma
Horticulturae 2022, 8(5), 457; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae8050457
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2311-7524/8/5/457

7. “Genetic Identity and Diversity of Apple Accessions within a Candidate Collection for the Norwegian National Clonal Germplasm Repository”
by Mekjell Meland, Milica Fotiric Aksic, Oddmund Frøynes, Almira Konjic, Lejla Lasic, Naris Pojskic and Fuad Gasi
Horticulturae 2022, 8(7), 630; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae8070630
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2311-7524/8/7/630

8. “Anthocyanin Accumulation and Differential Expression of the Biosynthetic Genes Result in a Discrepancy in the Red Color of Herbaceous Peony (Paeonia lactiflora Pall.) Flowers”
by Yanqing Wu, Zhaojun Hao, Yuhan Tang and Daqiu Zhao
Horticulturae 2022, 8(4), 349; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae8040349
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2311-7524/8/4/349

9. “Tomato Response to Fusarium spp. Infection under Field Conditions: Study of Potential Genes Involved”
by Joana A. Ribeiro, André Albuquerque, Patrick Materatski, Mariana Patanita, Carla M. R. Varanda, Maria do Rosário Félix and Maria Doroteia Campos
Horticulturae 2022, 8(5), 433; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae8050433
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2311-7524/8/5/433

10. “Advances in Breeding, Bioprospecting, and In Vitro Culture of Laelia Orchid Species”
by Alberto Mayo-Mosqueda, Eleazar García-Hernández, Eliana Noguera-Savelli, William Cetzal-Ix and Fulgencio Alatorre-Cobos
Horticulturae 2022, 8(2), 103; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae8020103
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2311-7524/8/2/103

1. “Changes in Metal Distribution, Vegetative Growth, Reactive Oxygen and Nutrient Absorption of Tagetes patula under Soil Cadmium Stress”
Horticulturae 2022, 8(1), 69; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae8010069
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2311-7524/8/1/69

2. “Molecular and Metabolic Changes under Environmental Stresses: The Biosynthesis of Quality Components in Preharvest Tea Shoots”
Horticulturae 2022, 8(2), 173; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae8020173
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2311-7524/8/2/173

3. “Graded Moisture Deficit Effect on Secondary Metabolites, Antioxidant, and Inhibitory Enzyme Activities in Leaf Extracts of Rosa damascena Mill. var. trigentipetala”
Horticulturae 2022, 8(2), 177; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae8020177
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2311-7524/8/2/177

4. “Genetic Analysis of the Grapevine GATA Gene Family and Their Expression Profiles in Response to Hormone and Downy Mildew Infection”
Horticulturae 2022, 8(4), 303; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae8040303
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2311-7524/8/4/303

5. “Effect of Elevated Temperature and Excess Light on Photosynthetic Efficiency, Pigments, and Proteins in the Field-Grown Sunflower during Afternoon”
Horticulturae 2022, 8(5), 392; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae8050392
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2311-7524/8/5/392

6. “Biostimulatory Action of a Plant-Derived Protein Hydrolysate on Morphological Traits, Photosynthetic Parameters, and Mineral Composition of Two Basil Cultivars Grown Hydroponically under Variable Electrical Conductivity”
Horticulturae 2022, 8(5), 409; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae8050409
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2311-7524/8/5/409

7. “OfSPL11 Gene from Osmanthus fragrans Promotes Plant Growth and Oxidative Damage Reduction to Enhance Salt Tolerance in Arabidopsis”
Horticulturae 2022, 8(5), 412; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae8050412
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2311-7524/8/5/412

8. “Application of Elicitors in Grapevine Defense: Impact on Volatile Compounds”
Horticulturae 2022, 8(5), 451; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae8050451
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2311-7524/8/5/451

9. “Effect of Saline–Alkali Stress on Sugar Metabolism of Jujube Fruit”
Horticulturae 2022, 8(6), 474; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae8060474
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2311-7524/8/6/474

10. “Effects of Cold Temperature and Acclimation on Cold Tolerance and Cannabinoid Profiles of Cannabis sativa L. (Hemp)”
Horticulturae 2022, 8(6), 531; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae8060531
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2311-7524/8/6/531

11. “Copper Stress Enhances the Lignification of Axial Organs in Zinnia elegans”
Horticulturae 2022, 8(6), 558; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae8060558
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2311-7524/8/6/558

12. “Molecular Characterization of Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) Accessions under Drought Stress”
Horticulturae 2022, 8(7), 600; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae8070600
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2311-7524/8/7/600

13. “Growth and Mineral Relations of Beta vulgaris var. cicla and Beta vulgaris ssp. maritima Cultivated Hydroponically with Diluted Seawater and Low Nitrogen Level in the Nutrient Solution”
Horticulturae 2022, 8(7), 638; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae8070638
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2311-7524/8/7/638

14. “Iodine Enhances the Nutritional Value but Not the Tolerance of Lettuce to NaCl”
Horticulturae 2022, 8(7), 662; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae8070662
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2311-7524/8/7/662

15. “Comparison of Waterlogging Tolerance of Three Peach Rootstock Seedlings Based on Physiological, Anatomical and Ultra-Structural Changes”
Horticulturae 2022, 8(8), 720; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae8080720
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2311-7524/8/8/720

16. “Effect of Biostimulant Application on Plant Growth, Chlorophylls and Hydrophilic Antioxidant Activity of Spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) Grown under Saline Stress”
Horticulturae 2022, 8(10), 971; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae8100971
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2311-7524/8/10/971

MDPI’s open access journal Horticulturae (ISSN: 2311-7524) is recruiting Editorial Board Members to help promote high-quality development in the following Sections:

• “Postharvest Biology, Quality, Safety, and Technology”;
• “Biotic and Abiotic Stress”;
• “Genetics, Genomics, Breeding, and Biotechnology (G2B2)”;
• “Vegetable Production Systems”;
• “Fruit Production Systems”;
• “Protected Culture”;
• “Developmental Physiology, Biochemistry, and Molecular Biology”;
• “Plant Nutrition”;
• “Propagation and Seeds”;
• “Plant Pathology and Disease Management (PPDM)”;
• “Insect Pest Management”;
• “Viticulture”;
• “Medicinals, Herbs, and Specialty Crops”;
• “Floriculture, Nursery and Landscape, and Turf”;
• “Processed Horticultural Products”;
• “Horticultural Economics, Policy, Business Management and Marketing”;
• “Outreach, Extension, and Education”.

Horticulturae is an international, multidisciplinary, peer-reviewed, open access journal focusing on all areas of temperate to tropical horticulture and related disciplines. Our goal is to encourage scientists to publish and communicate their results in a timely manner in an open venue, with no subscription or membership barriers for access, encompassing research on the entire horticultural supply chain.

As an Editorial Board Member, you will have the following responsibilities:

• Reviewing manuscripts;
• Making decisions on whether a manuscript can be accepted based on the collected review reports;
• Editing a Special Issue on a topic related to your research interests when it is convenient for you;
• Promoting the journal and increasing its visibility at related academic conferences;
• Attending board meetings to suggest journal development strategies.

More details regarding the Editorial Board of Horticulturae are available via the following link: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/horticulturae/editors.

If you are interested in serving on the Editorial Board or have potential candidates to recommend, please do not hesitate to contact the Horticulturae Editorial Office (horticulturae@mdpi.com).

Horticulturae Editorial Office

As a leading open access publisher, MDPI provides scholars with a high-quality and rich academic exchange platform by continuously expanding into new and exciting research areas.

In December 2022, MDPI launched five new journals, covering multiple subjects such as life sciences, biology, medicine and pharmacology, social sciences and humanities. These new journals are being edited by established scholars across the world.

If you are interested in creating more open access journals with us to publish cutting-edge research, please send your journal proposal application to newjournal-committee@mdpi.com.

MDPI is pleased to announce that we now display the co-authors’ email addresses in addition to the corresponding author’s email address on the webpage of published papers, protected by Captcha. For more information about this change, please visit the journal’s instructions for authors page. 

We believe this change will facilitate academic discussions and advance our cause of open science and research. The corresponding authors are responsible for communicating with their co-authors and indicating in our system (https://susy.mdpi.com/) if co-authors would prefer for their email addresses not to be displayed.

On 9 February 2023, Clarivate, a global leader in providing trusted insights and analytics, added the Preprint Citation Index to the Web of Science platform, streamlining the research process by allowing researchers to locate and link to preprints alongside other trusted content in the database.

The Preprint Citation Index will act as a bridge to connect cutting-edge preprints with peer-reviewed journal articles published within the Web of Science Core Collection. Alerts can be easily set to monitor new research across several repositories and authors will also be able to include preprints on their Web of Science Research Profile to more accurately display their various research outputs.

As of its launch, the Preprint Citation Index will provide nearly two million preprints from various repositories, including MDPI’s own Preprints.org.

MDPI's Preprints Platform – Preprints.org

To advance Open Science and the fast dissemination of research, MDPI offers researchers a free multidisciplinary preprint platform. Preprints.org accepts submissions from all research areas and offers authors high visibility, permanent archiving, article-level Metrics and immediately citable content by assigning a Digital Object Identifier (DOI) to all preprints.

During submission to any MDPI journal, authors have the option to share their research as a preprint. After an initial screening, the manuscript is available online in 48 hours or less. Once online, preprints can be downloaded, shared, commented on, and cited, providing authors maximum visibility.

We invite you to join the ranks of the over 100k researchers using Preprints.org and share your research.

For more information, please visit Preprints.org.

We are pleased to announce the launch of a new initiative—the MDPI Special Issue Mentor Program.

This program will enable early career researchers (who must hold a Ph.D. in a related field) to experience editing a Special Issue in MDPI journals, under the mentorship of our experienced Editorial Board Members or other experienced scientists. The mentor program will provide an excellent opportunity for early career scientists to gain editorial experience, and to cultivate their ability to edit scientific research.

The mentee’s responsibilities include:

• Proposing a Special Issue title and assisting the mentor in preparing a summary (around 200–400 words) and 3–10 keywords describing the background, importance, and goal of the Issue;
• Writing a brief promotion plan for the Special Issue;
• Preparing a list of scholars who may be interested in the Issue and personally e-mailing invitations on behalf of Guest Editors;
• Writing an editorial for the online Special Issue together with the mentor.

The mentor’s responsibilities include:

• Conducting a final check before the Special Issue is published online;
• Performing editorial control of the Special Issue and quality control of the publications, both of which must be carried out in a timely manner;
• Providing suggestions to younger scholars if they have any doubts or concerns regarding submissions;
• Organizing video calls with young scholars and the Editorial Office regularly to discuss problems and improvement suggestions for the Special Issue;
• Making and submitting decisions regarding submissions with the assistance of mentees.

Certificates and awards:
After the Special Issue closes, the Editorial Office will provide official certificates for all the mentors and early career researchers.

If you are interested in this opportunity, please send your Special Issue proposal to the Editorial Office of a journal you choose, and we will discuss the process (i.e., mentor collaboration, Special Issue topic feasibility analysis, etc.) in further detail. The full list of MDPI journals is as follows: https://www.mdpi.com/about/journals.

In addition to the new Special Issue Mentor Program, we will continue to welcome all Special Issue proposals focusing on hot research topics.

MDPI has just become the first open access (OA) publisher to reach the milestone of one million articles published. That is one million articles freely available to all, to circulate and build upon! We are proud to share this special moment with the global scientific community.

This landmark has been reached thanks to the immeasurable support of more than 600,000 expert reviewers, 66,000 editorial board members and 6700 hard-working colleagues across MDPI’s global offices.

Within more than 25 years of publishing, our journals received 2.1 million manuscripts and generated 4.6 million peer review reports to get to one million papers published.

Reaching the milestone of one million articles published reinforces our mission to remove any existing barriers and to make scientific research accessible to all. Since its inception, MDPI’s goal has been to create reliable processes to make science open. This is a path towards facilitating the dissemination of novel insights in scientific communities.

Regular feedback from authors and reviewers shows that our service is greatly appreciated and needed. At the same time, the feedback helps us identify areas for further improvement.

As it stands, a significant share of published research findings remain closed access. More than half of the content published with the most well-known legacy publishers stays behind a paywall, and that is not including articles published in hybrid OA journals, or made available months or years after publication.

A new policy announced by the US administration in August 2022 requires that, as of January 2026, all US federally funded research be made freely and immediately available after publication. While the new policy does not mandate articles be published under an open access license, it is aligned with the open access movement in removing all barriers to research. Similarly, some of the most advanced research institutions in the world intend to have all funded research articles published in open access by 2025.

MDPI is proud to be the leading agent of the transition to open access.

"Thanks a Million" to all the contributors!

We are pleased to announce that the website of the MDPI Sustainability Foundation has been revamped! For the past couple of months, our UX UI team and front-end developers have been working hard to launch the website in time for the opening of the Sustainability Awards nominations.

The website is not the only thing that has had a remodeling. Indeed, the format of the Emerging Sustainability Leader Award (ESLA) has been updated. ESLA is now a competition open to individual researchers or start-ups founded by researchers under the age of 35. Nominee applications will go through 2 rounds of selection until the final 3 are decided. The finalists will then be invited to give pitch presentations during the Award Ceremony to win either first place (10,000 USD) or runner-up (2 x 5000 USD).

The World Sustainability Award, on the other hand, remains the same: a total prize money of 100,000 USD is up for grabs by senior individual researchers or groups of researchers from the international research community.

Nominations for both the World Sustainability Award and the Emerging Sustainability Leader award are now open! Check out our new website for more information on how to nominate.