Nettle: From Weed to Green Enterprise
A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 December 2024) | Viewed by 5047
Special Issue Editors
Interests: plant secondary metabolites; abiotic stress; bioprotection; soluble phenolics; nettle; natural resources
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Stinging nettle (Urtica dioica) is a perennial, low-input, herbaceous plant that grows in the wild throughout the temperate and cooler parts of the world. The intertwined history of nettle and human beings can be traced back to prehistoric times. Preferring moist, nitrogen- and phosphate-rich soils, it thrives well in the backyard of human habitation. As it is easily available and particularly rich in bioactive compounds, minerals, and vitamins, it has been utilized for food, feed, medicine, cosmetics, and agriculture. Its silky fibers have also been used since ancient times for textiles, but abandoned in the cotton era.
Despite its contemporary reputation as a weed, stinging nettle is currently experiencing a revival, and is being reestablished as a beneficial crop. Its wide geographical distribution, low input requirements, few known pests and diseases, frost tolerance, and resilience to drought, makes it as an interesting alternative crop in many countries. Nettle has numerous potential applications in many sectors, but this advantage can also become a challenge when designing profitable value chains. Field establishment, cultivation, harvesting, and post-harvest processing, are all steps still requiring optimization.
However, there is growing research and widening commercial interest in employing nettle in more sustainable economies. This Special Issue aims to gather recent research related to the nettle value chain, from the natural variability and variety of nettle origins to product development and testing. Researchers are invited to submit original research articles and reviews that explore different topics within this broad context, such as plant morphology, physiology and resource allocation, genetics, molecular biology, biochemistry, and processing (for example, the post-harvest processing effect on raw material properties, bioactive compounds or fiber extraction, etc.).
We look forward to receiving your contributions.
Dr. Françoise Martz
Prof. Dr. Michel Chalot
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 crops
- perennials
- carbon sequestration
- antioxidants
- hydroxycinnamic acids
- natural fibers
- insecticide
- biostimulants
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
- Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
- Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
- Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
- External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
- Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.
