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Biostimulants and Organic Amendments for Sustainable Agriculture

This special issue belongs to the section “Crop Physiology and Crop Production“.

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Biostimulants and organic amendments represent a rapidly evolving class of agricultural inputs with wide-ranging functions in plant development, soil–microbe interactions, nutrient dynamics, and overall agroecosystem health. Harnessing the diversity and mechanisms of these inputs offers major opportunities to design more resilient cropping systems, enhance plant performance under stress, and reduce dependency on synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. Moreover, research on biostimulants and organic amendments has significantly expanded our understanding of the physiological regulation of plants, the ecological processes of soil, and the complex interplay between plants and their environment. Although substantial progress has been made, much remains to be explored as analytical tools become more sensitive, biostimulant formulations become more sophisticated, and our molecular and ecological understanding begins to move from controlled studies toward real-world agricultural systems. This Special Issue will highlight the function, diversity, and innovation surrounding biostimulants and organic amendments, emphasizing their roles in improving plant growth, nutrient-use efficiency, soil quality, and environmental sustainability. We welcome studies spanning the molecular and field scales, aimed at uncovering how these inputs can shape the future of sustainable agriculture and contribute to climate-smart and circular farming practices.

Dr. Michela Farneselli
Dr. Muhammad Zubair Akram
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. 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

  • biostimulants
  • organic amendments
  • soil health
  • soil quality and fertility
  • plant stress tolerance
  • plant–microbe interactions
  • nutrient-use efficiency
  • rhizosphere microbiome
  • biochar, compost and digestates
  • microbial inoculants
  • circular and climate-smart farming
  • agroecosystem resilience
  • sustainable crop production

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Plants - ISSN 2223-7747