Bacterial Diseases in Horticulture: Advances in the Study of Pathogens, Interaction with the Host, Diagnosis and Sustainable Control

Dear Colleagues,

Bacterial pathogens of horticultural crops are a serious problem worldwide, and often, as a consequence of climate change, they are the causal agents of devastating diseases. At present, there are few strategies to control bacterial pathogens. The use of antibiotics is illegal in most countries, including European countries, which has also reduced the possibilities of using copper. Currently, guidelines to control the spread of bacteria in the areas of occurrence of the diseases involve prevention and control with eco-compatible strategies.

Regarding prevention, studies on the pathogen and its interaction with the host and the availability of rapid, sensitive and specific diagnostic means are very valuable tools enabling timely diagnosis before the onset of symptoms. Regarding control, integrated strategies are environmentally friendly, not toxic to humans, and biodegradable. They also seem to be a potential alternative to synthetic compounds, especially because of the resistance that has been increasingly developed by pathogenic microorganisms.

The proposed Special Issue aims to present the main innovations concerning the study of bacterial pathogens of vegetable crops in the pre- and post-harvest phase, their interaction with the host, and molecular techniques for the diagnosis of the disease and innovations in the field of biological control of bacterial diseases with sustainable means and low environmental impact.

In the hope that this invitation receives your favorable consideration, we look forward to our future collaboration.

Dr. Nicoletta Pucci
Dr. Stefania Loreti
Dr. Scala Valeria
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.