Germplasm Resources and Genetic Improvement of Cucurbit Crops
A special issue of Horticulturae (ISSN 2311-7524). This special issue belongs to the section "Genetics, Genomics, Breeding, and Biotechnology (G2B2)".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 July 2026 | Viewed by 68
Special Issue Editors
Interests: cucumber; gene; genomics; breeding; development; germplasm
Interests: melon; watermelon; genetic mapping, gene function analysis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Cucurbit crops (watermelon, melon, cucumber, pumpkin, etc.) are nutritionally and economically important worldwide yet confront challenges from climate change, biotic stresses (e.g., powdery mildew, fusarium wilt) and rising demand for high-quality varieties. This Special Issue focuses on latest advances in their germplasm resources and genetic improvement, bridging basic research with sustainable production.
For germplasm, studies include collecting wild and landrace accessions (key reservoirs of stress-resistance genes) and analyzing genetic diversity via molecular markers (e.g., SNP) or multi-omics tools. In breeding, contributions cover traditional methods (hybridization, mutagenesis) and modern biotechnologies—such as CRISPR/Cas9 for precise enhancement of fruit traits and disease resistance and marker-assisted selection (MAS) to accelerate trait pyramiding.
This Issue integrates diverse research, serving as a valuable reference for advancing cucurbit productivity and resilience.
Prof. Dr. Chunhua Wang
Prof. Dr. Shi Liu
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
- cucurbit crops
- germplasm resources
- genetic improvement
- molecular breeding
- genetic diversity
- marker-assisted selection
- CRISPR/Cas9
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