Molecular and Physiological Responses of Horticultural Crops to Abiotic Stresses: Effect and Improvement

Dear Colleagues,

The major horticultural crops produced in the world are vegetables, fruits, and flowers. Recently, the importance of abiotic stresses has been gaining attention because many regions of horticultural crop production in the world experience diverse abiotic stresses, including those caused by the global climate change. Abiotic stresses in the form of extreme temperatures, light, humidity, drought, and/or salinity are well-known, and they are associated with a number of morphological, physiological, and biochemical events. The most common stress factors are the easiest for people to identify, but there are many other less recognizable abiotic stress factors which constantly affect the cultural environment.

Abiotic stress factors exert their negative effects through various biological molecules and induce oxidative stress by inhibiting the detoxifying enzymes of reactive oxygen species (ROS). These responses are direct consequences of changes in physiology, and gene or protein expressions. Abiotic stress factors may also induce a series of alterations which can influence the photochemical quantum yield of photosynthesis. The major effects of these abiotic stresses are a reduction in crop yield. Although many major steps have been taken through the years to reduce the effects of these stresses by genomic approaches, genomic information alone has been insufficient to answer those questions concerning gene function, developmental and regulatory biology, and the biochemical aspects.

The research topic aims to explore and provide more comprehensive approaches that include quantitative and qualitative analyses at the physiological, transcriptome, proteome, and metabolome levels to elucidate the major effects and improvements of abiotic stresses in horticultural plants. We welcome contributions including original research papers, short communications, reviews, and methods which are focused on the molecular and physiological overview of horticultural plants under abiotic stresses. Articles focused on alleviation and improvements of horticultural plants under abiotic stresses are also welcome.

Dr. Sowbiya Muneer
Prof. Dr. Byoung Ryong Jeong
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.