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Horticulturae
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Sustainable Fruit Crop Production: Innovative Orchard Cultivation and Management Technologies
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Sustainable Fruit Crop Production: Innovative Orchard Cultivation and Management Technologies

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 25 November 2026 | Viewed by 3441

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Antonio João de Lima Neto

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Plant Science, Federal University of Ceará (UFC), Fortaleza 60356-000, CE, Brazil
Interests: plant nutrition; soil fertility; fertilization; compositional nutrient diagnosis (CND); boundary line
Dr. Danilo Eduardo Rozane

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Agronomy, São Paulo State University (Unesp), Registro 11900-000, SP, Brazil
Interests: tissue nutrient diagnosis; nutrient diagnosis in soil; discriminant analysis; fertilization; compositional nutrient diagnosis; agricultural production
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Fruit growing is one of the agricultural activities that has grown the most globally in recent years, being of great importance in generating employment and income, especially in developing countries. The cultivation of fruit plants plays an important role in environmental aspects, as it allows the occupation of soils considered unsuitable for conventional agricultural activity, thus contributing to a more conservationist system. In recent years, several changes have occurred in the management adopted in production areas, due to the emergence and use of new technologies that seek to increase the productivity of orchards and produce better quality fruit with the least possible environmental impact.

The objective of this Special Edition "Sustainable Fruit Crop Production: Innovative Orchard Cultivation and Management Technologies" is to present results of innovative research recently developed by researchers around the world that contribute to a more sustainable production of fruit trees.

Dr. Antonio João de Lima Neto
Dr. Danilo Eduardo Rozane
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-blind 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 2200 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

  • fertilizers
  • soil fertility
  • plant nutrition
  • critical levels
  • nutritional standards
  • CND

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 2253 KB  
Article
Sunscreen Application Mitigates Heat Stress and Enhances Fruit Quality in ‘Hass’ Avocado
by Gabriel Silva Aparecido, Valdomiro Junior Neres Santos, Felipe Rezende de Moura Ribeiro, Renata dos Santos Torelli, Bruno Henrique Leite Gonçalvez, Aloísio Costa Sampaio, Magali Leonel, Marco Antonio Tecchio, Sarita Leonel and Marcelo de Souza Silva
Horticulturae 2026, 12(5), 509; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae12050509 - 22 Apr 2026
Viewed by 968
Abstract
Brazil, as one of the world’s leading fruit producers, faces increasing challenges arising from climate change, particularly in avocado cultivation, where excessive solar radiation and high temperatures impair plant metabolism, yield, and fruit quality. This study evaluated the use of a calcium and [...] Read more.
Brazil, as one of the world’s leading fruit producers, faces increasing challenges arising from climate change, particularly in avocado cultivation, where excessive solar radiation and high temperatures impair plant metabolism, yield, and fruit quality. This study evaluated the use of a calcium and magnesium hydroxide-based sunscreen in mitigating heat stress in eight-year-old ‘Hass’ avocado trees. The experimental design was a randomized complete block design in a 4 × 8 factorial arrangement, with five replicates. Sunscreen applications were performed at full bloom and at the initial fruit development stage (18 mm). Leaf temperature, fruit drop rate, yield-related traits, fruit classification, and the percentage of fruit lesions were evaluated. Applications of the calcium and magnesium hydroxide-based sunscreen at concentrations of 3.0% and 4.5% (w/v) reduced leaf temperature and improved fruit biometric attributes compared to the control, although the maximum fruit diameter was achieved at the 2.6% concentration. The 4.5% sunscreen concentration reduced leaf temperature and fruit drop in ‘Hass’ avocado trees by 1.5 °C and 24.5%, respectively, compared with the control and decreased the percentage of small and damaged fruits. The application of sunscreen improved fruit weight and the percentage of fruits with higher market value, while the fruit diameter presented higher values at intermediate concentrations. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Fruit Crop Production: Innovative Orchard Cultivation and Management Technologies)
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13 pages, 2433 KB  
Article
Impact of Prohexadione Calcium and Mepiquat Chloride on Vegetative Growth and Fruit Quality in ‘Shine Muscat’ Grapevines
by Dawei Cheng, Shasha He, Lan Li, Xiangyang Tong, Hong Gu, Xiaoxu Sun, Ming Li and Jinyong Chen
Horticulturae 2026, 12(4), 418; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae12040418 - 28 Mar 2026
Viewed by 632
Abstract
The vigorous growth of new shoots can significantly reduce grape yield and compromise fruit quality. In order to explore the effects of prohexadione calcium (Pro-Ca) and mepiquat chloride (MC) on the control effect of new shoot growth and fruit quality of grape, ‘Shine [...] Read more.
The vigorous growth of new shoots can significantly reduce grape yield and compromise fruit quality. In order to explore the effects of prohexadione calcium (Pro-Ca) and mepiquat chloride (MC) on the control effect of new shoot growth and fruit quality of grape, ‘Shine Muscat’ grapevine (Vitis labruscana × V. vinifera) was used as the test material, and different concentrations of Pro-Ca and a combination of Pro-Ca and MC were sprayed four times before flowering of ‘Shine Muscat’ grapevines, and the effects of the different treatments on the new shoot growth and fruit quality of ‘Shine Muscat’ grape were analyzed and evaluated. The results demonstrated that low concentrations of Pro-Ca had limited efficacy in controlling shoot growth. However, the combined treatment of Pro-Ca 300 mg/L + MC 300 mg/L not only effectively inhibited shoot elongation but also significantly enhanced the chlorophyll content of the leaves opposite to the clusters and increased branch density. Additionally, this treatment improved berry size (single berry weight, vertical and horizontal diameter) and elevated the soluble solids content (SSC). These findings suggest that the combined application of Pro-Ca (300 mg/L) and MC (300 mg/L) is the most effective strategy for balancing vegetative growth and enhancing fruit quality in ‘Shine Muscat’ grapevines. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Fruit Crop Production: Innovative Orchard Cultivation and Management Technologies)
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21 pages, 1253 KB  
Article
Customized Nutrient Standards to Diagnose Nutrient Imbalance in Fertigated ‘Nanica’ Banana Groves
by Antonio João de Lima Neto, José Aridiano Lima de Deus, Danilo Eduardo Rozane, Márcio Cleber de Medeiros Corrêa, William Natale, Essi Parent and Léon Etienne Parent
Horticulturae 2025, 11(11), 1327; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae11111327 - 4 Nov 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1335
Abstract
Banana (Musa spp.) is an important fruit production in Brazil, but crop productivity is still too low. The ‘Nanica’ cultivar and fertigation have been introduced, but more accurate guidelines are needed to support fertilization decisions at the orchard scale. This study aimed [...] Read more.
Banana (Musa spp.) is an important fruit production in Brazil, but crop productivity is still too low. The ‘Nanica’ cultivar and fertigation have been introduced, but more accurate guidelines are needed to support fertilization decisions at the orchard scale. This study aimed to develop customized nutrient standards for fertigated ‘Nanica’. A commercial ‘Nanica’ orchard provided 129 observations on yield and foliar nutrient concentrations from 2010 to 2017 in eight groves of 3.26 ha each. Plant density averaged 1479 plants ha−1. The diagnostic leaf was analyzed for 13 elements. Concentration values were transformed into centered log ratios (clr), weighted log ratios (wlr), and isometric log ratios (ilr) to account for nutrient interactions and normalize the data. Yield cutoff between low- and high yielders was set at 27 t ha−1 semester−1. The XGBoost classification models relating yield to tissue composition returned an area under curve averaging 0.715 for log ratio expressions. Nutrient standards were expressed as clr, wlr, and raw concentration means and standard deviations of performing specimens. The clr and wlr diagnoses of a low-yielding and imbalanced specimen against a benchmark specimen (Euclidean distance = 2.5) or the performing subpopulation (Mahalanobis distance = 37.6, p < 0.01) indicated Mn shortage and Na excess. Sufficiency concentration ranges may not agree with log ratio diagnoses, especially for Mn. The clr and wlr nutrient standards were site-specific, supporting precision farming. The concept developed in this paper is applicable to endogenous research conducted by stakeholders in orchards worldwide. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Fruit Crop Production: Innovative Orchard Cultivation and Management Technologies)
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