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Innovative Fertilizers and Nutrient Chemistry for Sustainable Agriculture
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Innovative Fertilizers and Nutrient Chemistry for Sustainable Agriculture

A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant Nutrition".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 August 2025 | Viewed by 350

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Thiago Jardelino Dias

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Agriculture, Center for Human, Social, and Agrarian Sciences, Federal University of Paraíba, Bananeiras, Brazil
Interests: physiology plant; organic; farming; biofertilizers; soil fertility; irrigation
Prof. Dr. Dimitrios Bilalis

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Laboratory of Agronomy, Department of Crop Science, Agricultural University of Athens, 11855 Athens, Greece
Interests: agronomy; organic agriculture; certification; soil management; weed management; environmental impact of agriculture
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Sustainable agriculture requires the continuous pursuit of innovative solutions for efficient nutrient management, taking into account the challenges of feeding a growing global population, preserving natural resources, and mitigating environmental impacts.

By addressing the theme "Innovative Fertilizers and Nutrient Chemistry for Sustainable Agriculture", this Special Issue aims to deepen the understanding of the essential role of fertilizers, the dynamics of essential elements for plant growth, and soil chemistry, as well as determining integrated management strategies that enhance nutrient use efficiency.

This Special Issue covers topics ranging from the development of smart and controlled-release fertilizers to practices that maximize nutrient use efficiency, minimize losses, control the role of soil additives (such as zeolith, biochar, etc.) on fertilizer efficiency, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It highlights the analysis of nutrient behavior under different environmental and biological conditions, exploring balanced fertilization, biofertilizers, and soil remineralizers. Additionally, it emphasizes the importance of recycling nutrients from organic residues, refining chemical inputs, and recognizing the indispensable role of macro- and micro-nutrients in plants and food security.

Throughout this Special Issue, original articles will encourage reflection on how fertilizer science and nutrient chemistry contribute to more resilient, efficient, and environmentally sustainable agricultural production. By adopting an interdisciplinary approach, it seeks to foster collaboration between researchers and producers thus building a solid foundation for advancing agriculture toward systems that are more sustainable and committed to preserving natural resources.

Dr. Thiago Jardelino Dias
Prof. Dr. Dimitrios Bilalis
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 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

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. Plants is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly 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 2700 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
  • nutrient management
  • plants–soil interaction
  • sustainable agriculture

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

23 pages, 8092 KiB  
Article
Freshwater Algae Biostimulant in Mitigating Impacts of Saline Irrigation on Onions
by Jean Carlos Nogueira, Jefferson dos Santos Gomes Calaça, Carla Veronica Barbosa de Souza Gomes, Luiz Emanuel Callou Menezes, José Raliuson Inácio Silva, Alexandre Maniçoba da Rosa Ferraz Jardim, Luiz Guilherme Medeiros Pessoa, João Henrique Barbosa da Silva, Ramon Freire da Silva, Thiago Jardelino Dias and Genival Barros Júnior
Plants 2025, 14(10), 1559; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14101559 - 21 May 2025
Viewed by 155
Abstract
Salinity poses a significant challenge in modern agriculture, often inhibiting growth and yield, especially in sensitive crops like onions (Allium cepa L.). This study evaluated the effectiveness of a freshwater-algae-based biostimulant on two onion cultivars, Franciscana IPA-10 and Vale Ouro IPA-11, to [...] Read more.
Salinity poses a significant challenge in modern agriculture, often inhibiting growth and yield, especially in sensitive crops like onions (Allium cepa L.). This study evaluated the effectiveness of a freshwater-algae-based biostimulant on two onion cultivars, Franciscana IPA-10 and Vale Ouro IPA-11, to mitigate saline irrigation’s adverse effects. Five biostimulant concentrations (0, 1, 2, 3, and 4 mL L−1, applied to the soil) were tested, along with two foliar treatments at 2 mL L−1 as controls. Our findings showed that applying 4 mL L−1 to the soil boosted growth rates to 1.0 cm per day (1), increased the potassium-to-sodium ratio in bulbs, and improved both average bulb weight by 25.11% and overall productivity by 24.28%, relative to untreated conditions. These results suggest that the biostimulant at 4 mL L−1 is an effective method to enhance resilience to saline stress and increase productivity in the IPA-10 and IPA-11 cultivars. However, while the biostimulant improved plant performance, it did not counteract the accumulation of salts in the soil. Therefore, additional management practices such as leaching and drainage are recommended to ensure sustainable onion production under saline water irrigation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Innovative Fertilizers and Nutrient Chemistry for Sustainable Agriculture)
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