Biofertilization, Biocontrol and Bioprotection of Crops

Dear Colleagues, 

The journal Plants will be publishing a Special Issue “Biofertilization, Biocontrol, and Bioprotection of Crops”, in the section plant–microbe interaction.

The expected increase in the human population in the next decades, together with global warming and climate change, poses a great challenge for agriculture, as crop yields must be increased in harsh conditions, with limited access to water and chemical supplies, with the aim of achieving food security. To address this challenge, plants must be considered and managed with their natural partners, beneficial micro-organisms, in mind.

As sessile organisms, plants are fixed in the soil and have to overcome all types of environmental challenges to survive. For this purpose, plants have developed a complex network of chemical pathways to produce a plethora of different molecules to ensure adaptation to changing conditions. The chemical arsenal covers abiotic stress factors, including temperature, soil salinity, lack of nutrients, water stress, pH, and biotic stress factors, such as hervibores, nematodes, bacteria, and fungi. In short, secondary metabolism is activated by a number of factors and irrespective of the nature of these, there is a common feature: reactive oxygen species (ROS), which is involved in signal transduction to trigger defensive metabolism. To synthetize these molecules, plants need to maintain active photosynthesis to supply carbon scaffolding to the activated biosynthetic machinery, which also calls for a good nutrient supply.

In addition to the plant’s genetic endowment to carry out all of these metabolic processes, they have recruited experts in the form of soil micro-organisms to collaborate in successful adaptations: plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR). The potential benefits of these microorganisms include the mobilization of soil nutrients, the release of enzymes or molecules to inhibit the growth of pathogenic micro-organisms, and in certain PGPR, the systemic induction of secondary metabolism, triggering plant defensive responses which confer an enhanced defensive potential upon pathogen outbreak. Frequently, systemic induction affects metabolites with bioactive potential for human health, so PGPR can also be used as a tool to improve crop quality due to increases in bioactive contents, and consequently, human health. The multitargeted help provided by PGPR can be seen as an excellent alternative to increase crop yield and quality.

Thus, considering the many situations in which crops are grown, the factors limiting crop yield and quality, and potential benefits for human health, this Special Issue will consider manuscripts covering the improvement of plant nutrition (biofertilization), biocontrol, and bioprotection, in which beneficial bacteria or derived molecules are involved. We welcome varied contributions, from early experimental work under controlled conditions describing mechanisms of action to field experiments reporting beneficial effects on yield, protection, and quality.

Prof. Dr. Beatriz Ramos Solano
Dr. F. Javier Gutierrez-Manero
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.

• biofertilization
• biostimulation
• secondary metabolism
• plant antioxidants
• adaptation
• PGPR
• bioactives
• abiotic stress
• plant defense
• agronomic production
• food security