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Horticulturae
Special Issues
The Biology of Fruit Quality in Horticulture: Formation and Regulation
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The Biology of Fruit Quality in Horticulture: Formation and Regulation

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 August 2026 | Viewed by 1904

Editors

Prof. Dr. Haoyuan Sun

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Forestry and Pomology, Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, Beijing 100093, China
Interests: tree fruits; rootstock; breeding; biotechnology; cultivation
Dr. Xueqing Zhao

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Forestry, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China
Interests: tree fruits; ornamental plants; molecular mechanism; fruit quality

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Current biological research on the formation and regulation of fruit quality in horticultural plants is advancing toward more refined molecular analysis, systematic network construction, and precise regulatory applications. One of the critical tasks in horticultural plant research is to integrate fundamental research findings more rapidly into breeding and cultivation practices, enabling precise regulation of fruit quality and the development of new varieties that are more flavorful, nutritious, and resilient to storage and transportation.

This Special Issue invites cutting-edge and foundational research in the following areas, including but not limited to, hormone interactions and synergistic regulation of fruit maturation, flavor compound accumulation, anthocyanin accumulation, sugar conversion, and softening processes; nutrient transport and accumulation, and the cytological basis of texture softening; molecular mechanisms of fruit size and color formation; QTL mapping and candidate gene mining related to quality traits; regulation of fruit set and mechanisms of postharvest quality preservation; and multi-omics integration and systems biology approaches to systematically analyze the genetic basis and regulatory networks of quality traits. Additionally, studies on inter-organ interactions (e.g., between fruits, leaves, and roots) and the networks between fruit quality formation and environmental factors (e.g., microorganisms and abiotic stress) are also encouraged.

Prof. Dr. Haoyuan Sun
Dr. Xueqing Zhao
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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

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-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Horticulturae 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 2400 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

  • fruit quality
  • horticultural practices
  • physiology
  • molecular mechanism
  • functional genes

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Review

19 pages, 2502 KB  
Review
The Sugar-Acid-Aroma Balance: Integrating the Key Components of Fruit Quality and Their Implications in Stone Fruit Breeding
by Muhammad Muzammal Aslam, Wenjian Yu, Fengchao Jiang, Junhuan Zhang, Li Yang, Meiling Zhang and Haoyuan Sun
Horticulturae 2026, 12(2), 170; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae12020170 - 30 Jan 2026
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1560
Abstract
Improving fruit quality is one of the most critical core tasks in fruit tree breeding. However, the complexity of the constituent factors of fruit quality and their interrelationships, the significant influence of environmental factors on quality, and the diversity of consumer demands, among [...] Read more.
Improving fruit quality is one of the most critical core tasks in fruit tree breeding. However, the complexity of the constituent factors of fruit quality and their interrelationships, the significant influence of environmental factors on quality, and the diversity of consumer demands, among other factors, make quality breeding a more challenging endeavor than other breeding objectives. Essentially, fruit quality is defined by the delicate balance of sugar, acid, and aromas, which collectively influence the fruit’s flavor, consumer satisfaction, and economic value. While substantial progress has been made in the depiction of the metabolic pathways underlying these traits, the molecular mechanism coordinating carbon partitioning and competition between sugars, acids, and volatiles remains unknown. This review focuses on recent advances in understanding stone fruit metabolism and identifies key gaps in knowledge. We emphasize the need for integrated approaches combining spatial metabolomics, transcriptomics, genetics, and genomics to reveal the regulatory networks underlying metabolomic variation during fruit development and ripening. We also discuss the application of molecular tools, such as marker-assisted selection and metabolite-associated markers, to accelerate the breeding of flavor-balanced stone fruit cultivars. By adapting these advances in breeding practices, we can achieve coordinated improvement and precise regulation of various components of fruit quality, thereby developing elite stone fruit cultivars with improved flavor that meet prevailing consumer demands. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Biology of Fruit Quality in Horticulture: Formation and Regulation)
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