Crop–Weed Competition: Ecological Interactions and Management Strategies
A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant Ecology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 April 2026 | Viewed by 140
Special Issue Editors
Interests: weed ecology; integrated weed management; weed population dynamics; modeling; decision support systems; climate change
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Crop–weed competition is a central challenge in agricultural systems, directly affecting crop yield, resource use efficiency, and overall farm sustainability. This Special Issue aims to gather cutting-edge research and reviews that explore the ecological, physiological, and agronomic aspects of crop–weed interactions. We welcome contributions that enhance our understanding of the mechanisms underlying competition for light, water, nutrients, and space, as well as the influence of cropping systems, climate change, and weed management practices on competitive outcomes.
This Special Issue seeks to bridge fundamental ecological insights with practical strategies, offering innovative approaches to suppress weeds, improve crop resilience, and reduce dependency on chemical herbicides. Studies involving modeling, field experimentation, cover cropping, allelopathy, crop breeding for competitive traits, and integrated weed management are particularly encouraged.
By bringing together diverse perspectives, this Special Issue will provide a comprehensive overview of current knowledge and future directions in the field of crop–weed competition.
Prof. Dr. José L. González-Andújar
Dr. Fernando Oreja
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
- crop–weed competition
- ecological interactions
- integrated weed management
- allelopathy
- cropping systems
- climate change impacts
- cover cropping
- competitive traits
- modeling
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