Navigating the Future of Agriculture: Balancing the Benefits and Challenges of Alternative Plant Nutrition Methods
A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant Nutrition".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2025 | Viewed by 1088
Special Issue Editors
Interests: abiotic stress; antioxidative enzymes; biofertilizers/biostimulants; biotic stress; free radicals; plant nutrients
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: abiotic stress; antioxidative enzymes; biofertilizers/biostimulants; osmolytes; non-destructive stress detection measurements; drought stress; heat stress; free radicals
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: microanatomy/ultrastructure of plant organs; micromorphological-anatomical adaptive ability of vegetative organs; histological changes; abiotic stress; potentially toxic element; alternative plant nutrient methods
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Alternative plant nutrition methods offer several advantages and disadvantages compared to traditional soil-based cultivation with chemical fertilizers. They offer promising solutions to address sustainability challenges in agriculture, providing efficient resource use and reduced environmental impact. However, they also present technical, economic, and operational challenges that require careful consideration and investment. The choice of nutrition method used depends on specific goals, local conditions, and the scale of production, balancing potential benefits with practical limitations. Some of the advantages of using alternative plant nutrition methods and materials include environmental sustainability, improved nutrient efficiency, reduced pest and disease pressure, and diverse applications and adaptability. On the other hand, in using alternative nutrient methods, we should also consider the risk of system failures, limited crop variety and market acceptance, dependency on external resources, regulatory and certification challenges, and maybe higher initial levels of investment. The certification process for a new nutrient material or method is lengthy and begins with assessing its effects on plants. This Special Issue of Plants welcomes research articles, reviews, and short communications related to the investigation of the effects of alternative plant nutrient materials and methods on plants. In addition, multidisciplinary studies, including systems biology, molecular biology, and genetic, physiological, and biochemical approaches, are also appreciated.
Dr. Brigitta Tóth
Dr. Makoena Joyce Moloi
Dr. Csilla Tóth
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
- alternative nutrients
- antioxidant system
- micromorphological changes in plants
- plants’ responses
- stress mitigation
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