Plant–Microbe Interactions Along Value Chains for Sustainable Horticulture
A special issue of Microorganisms (ISSN 2076-2607). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant Microbe Interactions".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2026 | Viewed by 18
Special Issue Editor
Interests: horticultural microbiology; closed/soilless cultivation systems (hydroponics); growing-media and substrate microbiology; phyllosphere microbiome and light-mediated microbial ecology; post-harvest microbial dynamics in fresh produce; food safety and human pathogen risk in horticulture; biological control and biocontrol agents; composting and organic growing media hygiene; sustainable and urban horticulture systems; plant protection and disease suppressiveness in horticultural value chains
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Plant/product–microbe interactions shape every stage of horticultural value chains, extending far beyond the classical focus on growth promotion or pathogen suppression in the field. From propagation and cultivation to harvest, processing, storage, distribution, and consumption, microbial communities influence crop performance, product quality, safety, and sustainability. Throughout these value networks, diverse ecological processes occur, including microbial turnover in growing media and shifts in epiphytic and endophytic communities during primary production based on cropping site, input means, and climate. In addition, post-harvest handling dynamically changes the microbiome and its functionalities in fresh produce during processing and storage. These transformations not only affect shelf life and spoilage, but also play a central role in the persistence, transmission, or mitigation of human pathogens on fruits and vegetables from farm to fork.
This Special Issue, “Plant–Microbe Interactions Along Value Chains for Sustainable Horticulture”, invites authors to submit research that captures this full continuum of microbial ecology. We seek contributions addressing beneficial or deleterious interactions in cropping systems, microbial successions in primary production and produce, but also in natural soil used for horticultural production and growing media, the risk-relevant dynamics of food-borne pathogens, and microbiome-based strategies that enhance both sustainability and safety. By integrating perspectives from plant science, microbiology, ecology, food safety, and horticultural technology, this Special Issue aims to illuminate how microbial processes in value chains can be understood and managed to support resilient, resource-efficient, and safe horticultural production systems.
Prof. Dr. Beatrix Alsanius
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- plant–microbe interactions
- horticultural value chains
- microbiome dynamics
- growing media microbiology
- post-harvest microbiome
- fresh produce safety
- food-borne pathogens related to fruit and vegetables
- microbial succession
- sustainable horticulture
- microbiome-based interventions and strategies
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