Improvement of Resistance Strategies for Horticultural Plant Cultivation

A special issue of Horticulturae (ISSN 2311-7524). This special issue belongs to the section "Vegetable Production Systems".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 May 2026 | Viewed by 506

Special Issue Editor

College of Horticulture, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450002, China
Interests: plant growth promoting rhizobacteria; biological control (biocontrol of plant pathogens); abiotic stress tolerance; plant physiology

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Horticultural plant cultivation is a cornerstone of agricultural production, vital for ensuring a stable supply of fresh produce and enhancing farmers’ incomes. However, conventional cultivation practices often involve the excessive use of pesticides and fertilizers, along with inefficient management approaches, leading to emerging challenges such as soil-borne diseases, secondary salinization, autotoxicity, and other obstacles associated with continuous cropping. These issues increasingly threaten the sustainability of horticultural plant production systems. It is, therefore, essential to develop innovative, green, and efficient strategies that enhance stress resistance in horticultural plants.

This Special Issue, entitled “Improvement of Resistance Strategies for Horticultural Plant Cultivation”, will integrate fundamental research with practical solutions to advance sustainable horticultural plant production. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Investigating the mechanisms underlying root–rhizosphere interactions and their role in improving stress resilience;
  • Applying plant growth regulators, grafting techniques, and other methods to enhance crop resistance, yield, and nutrient uptake.

We invite you to contribute original research and insights. Your submissions will help us to share valuable knowledge with both the academic community and the wider industry.

Dr. Nanshan Du
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • environmental response
  • plant growth promoting rhizobacteria
  • biological control (biocontrol of plant pathogens)
  • abiotic stress tolerance
  • plant physiology

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

18 pages, 4398 KB  
Article
Physiological Response and Transcriptome Analysis of Waxy Near-Isogenic Lines in Chinese Cabbage (Brassica rapa L. ssp. pekinensis) Under Drought Stress
by Ronghua Wang, Shubin Wang, Zhizhong Zhao, Nianfang Xu, Qiaoyun Li, Zhigang Zhang and Shuantao Liu
Horticulturae 2025, 11(12), 1431; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae11121431 - 26 Nov 2025
Viewed by 377
Abstract
To identify key genes involved in drought stress response among Chinese cabbage materials with different drought resistance, a pair of waxy near-isogenic lines (NILs) of Chinese cabbage were used as materials, and a 10% polyethylene glycol (PEG) 6000 solution was employed to simulate [...] Read more.
To identify key genes involved in drought stress response among Chinese cabbage materials with different drought resistance, a pair of waxy near-isogenic lines (NILs) of Chinese cabbage were used as materials, and a 10% polyethylene glycol (PEG) 6000 solution was employed to simulate drought stress. A comparative analysis of phenotypes, physiology, and transcriptomes under drought stress was conducted in this study. Compared with the non-waxy material T065-2, the waxy material T065-1 exhibited 5068, 5512, 5210, and 5875 significantly differentially expressed genes (DEGs) at 0, 6, 12, and 24 h under drought stress, respectively. These DEGs were primarily enriched in “response to oxygen levels” and “secondary metabolite biosynthesis” biological processes and “biosynthesis of secondary metabolites” and “glucosinolate biosynthesis” pathways. Combined with gene function annotation, 26 genes related to the abscisic acid (ABA) signaling pathway (e.g., PYL2, PYL6, SnRK2.5, and SnRK2.10), 63 genes associated with wax synthesis and transport (e.g., MAH1, CER3a, ABCG25, and LTPG1), and 84 transcription factor genes (e.g., ERF, WRKY, and MYB) were identified, all of which showed significant differential expression in the waxy NILs of Chinese cabbage, potentially participating in drought stress response. The reliability of the transcriptomic analysis was validated using qRT-PCR. These findings provide a crucial theoretical foundation for exploring drought-resistant molecular markers and editing targets in Chinese cabbage, significantly accelerating the breeding of superior drought-resistant varieties. Full article
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