Special Issues

Plants publishes Special Issues to create collections of papers on specific topics, with the aim of building a community of authors and readers to discuss the latest research and develop new ideas and research directions. Special Issues are led by Guest Editors, who are experts on the topic and all Special Issue submissions follow MDPI's standard editorial process. The journal’s Editor-in-Chief and/or designated Editorial Board Member will oversee Guest Editor appointments and Special Issue proposals, checking their content for relevance and ensuring the suitability of the material for the journal. The papers published in a Special Issue will be collected and displayed on a dedicated page of the journal’s website. Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies and Guest Editor responsibilities can be found here. For any inquiries related to a Special Issue, please contact the Editorial Office.

Section
Search by Title/Keyword
 
Order results
Display
Results per page
Bean Breeding submission deadline 15 Feb 2026 | Viewed by 130 | Submission Open
Keywords: crop improvement; marker-assisted and genomic selection; key breeding parameters; nutritional enhancement; NGS-based applications; functional genomics; sustainable agriculture
(This special issue belongs to the Section Plant Genetics, Genomics and Biotechnology)
Effects of Viticultural Practices and Edaphoclimatic Conditions on Grape and Wine Quality, 2nd Edition submission deadline 15 Feb 2026 | Viewed by 122 | Submission Open
Keywords: berry quality; climate change adaptation; cold climate viticulture; edaphoclimatic conditions; precision viticulture; subtropical viticulture; table grape production; viticultural practices; terroir
(This special issue belongs to the Section Crop Physiology and Crop Production)
Physiological and Molecular Mechanisms of Plant Resistance to Abiotic Stress
edited by , Yao Zhang and
submission deadline 17 Feb 2026 | 5 articles | Viewed by 4015 | Submission Open
Keywords: salt and alkaline stresses; cold and high temperature stresses; water and drought stresses; oxidative stress; hydroponic cultivation; hairy root induction; horticulture crops; oil crops; ornamental crops; tolerance mechanisms; protein interaction; transcription regulation; splicing factor; transcription factor; root development; root morphology; heavy metal stress; environment stimuli
(This special issue belongs to the Section Plant Physiology and Metabolism)
Biological Activities of Plant Extracts, 2nd Edition
edited by
submission deadline 20 Feb 2026 | 4 articles | Viewed by 13460 | Submission Open
Keywords: plant extracts; pharmacology; cytotoxic activity; natural products; enzyme inhibition; pharmacognosy; functional foods; antioxidants; antimicrobial activity; chemoprevention
(This special issue belongs to the Section Phytochemistry)
Physiological, Biochemical and Molecular Approaches to the Stress Response in Plants submission deadline 20 Feb 2026 | 6 articles | Viewed by 9410 | Submission Open
Keywords: photosynthesis; respiration; transpiration; evapotranspiration; plant physiology; stress response
(This special issue belongs to the Section Plant Response to Abiotic Stress and Climate Change)
Valorization of Plant-Based Food Wastes and Byproducts: Compounds of Interest for the Food, Pharmaceutical, Cosmetic and Textile Industries submission deadline 20 Feb 2026 | 4 articles | Viewed by 7954 | Submission Open
Keywords: plant-derived materials; bioactive compounds; green extraction; plant-based food waste recovery
(This special issue belongs to the Section Phytochemistry)
Ethnobotany and Biodiversity Conservation in South Africa submission deadline 20 Feb 2026 | 3 articles | Viewed by 5615 | Submission Open
Keywords: ethnobotany; plants biodiversity; conservation; South Africa
Floral Biology, 4th Edition
edited by and Marianna Kocsis
submission deadline 20 Feb 2026 | 3 articles | Viewed by 3809 | Submission Open
Keywords: bee; compatibility; nectar; nectary; pollen; pollination; pollen vector; reproductive biology; resource; reward
(This special issue belongs to the Section Plant Development and Morphogenesis)
Plant Invasions and Their Interactions with the Environment submission deadline 20 Feb 2026 | 4 articles | Viewed by 3369 | Submission Open
Keywords: invasive plants; native plants; interactive effect; adaptive evolution; allelopathy; interspecific competition; abiotic stress; biotic factors; global climate change; warming; microplastic; emerging pollutants; extreme weather
(This special issue belongs to the Section Plant Ecology)
Molecular Mechanisms and Epigenetic Regulation of Abiotic Stress Tolerance in Plants
edited by and Xiaodong Yang
submission deadline 20 Feb 2026 | 2 articles | Viewed by 3350 | Submission Open
Keywords: abiotic stress; molecular mechanisms; epigenetic regulation; stress signaling pathways; climate-resilient crops
(This special issue belongs to the Section Plant Genetics, Genomics and Biotechnology)
Recent Progress in Exploring Plant Metabolic Pathways: Unraveling the Complexity of Plant Biochemistry
edited by and Guiliang Tang
submission deadline 20 Feb 2026 | 3 articles | Viewed by 2254 | Submission Open
Keywords: plant metabolism; metabolic pathways; primary metabolism; secondary metabolism; metabolic engineering; gene family evolution; abiotic and biotic stress; plant biochemistry; systems biology
(This special issue belongs to the Section Plant Physiology and Metabolism)
Sustainable Crop Production Under Abiotic Stresses: Physiological Response and Cultivation Regulation for Yield Optimization
edited by
submission deadline 20 Feb 2026 | 1 articles | Viewed by 1258 | Submission Open
Keywords: abiotic stress; plant growth; crop yield; grain quality; physiological mechanism; stress tolerance; cultivation regulation
(This special issue belongs to the Section Crop Physiology and Crop Production)
Exploring the Genetic and/or Metabolic Diversity of Traditional Crop Varieties submission deadline 20 Feb 2026 | 1 articles | Viewed by 710 | Submission Open
Keywords: landraces; germplasm resources; genetic diversity; nutritional and nutraceutical value
(This special issue belongs to the Section Plant Genetics, Genomics and Biotechnology)
Relationships Between Plant Phenology and Climate Factors
edited by
submission deadline 20 Feb 2026 | Viewed by 200 | Submission Open
Keywords: plant phenology; climate change; mechanistic understanding; ecological modeling; plant species; experiment
(This special issue belongs to the Section Plant Response to Abiotic Stress and Climate Change)
Plant Stress Physiology and Ecophysiology: Mechanisms, Responses, and Environmental Adaptation
edited by and Zhouli Liu
submission deadline 20 Feb 2026 | Viewed by 188 | Submission Open
Keywords: stress physiology; ecophysiology; adaptation; ecology
(This special issue belongs to the Section Plant Physiology and Metabolism)
Advances in Industrial Crops: Genomics, Genetic Diversity, and Breeding
edited by and
submission deadline 20 Feb 2026 | 1 articles | Viewed by 168 | Submission Open
Keywords: industrial crops; GWAS; abiotic stress; multi-omics; breeding; QTL mapping; phenotyping; genetic diversity
(This special issue belongs to the Section Plant Genetics, Genomics and Biotechnology)
Interaction of Eco-Evolutionary Drivers in Plant Adaptation 2025
edited by Giovanni Zecca
submission deadline 20 Feb 2026 | Viewed by 164 | Submission Open
Keywords: adaptive evolution; adaptive divergence; ecological drivers of evolution; convergent evolution; coevolution; character displacement; environmental adaptation; life traits evolution
(This special issue belongs to the Section Plant Response to Abiotic Stress and Climate Change)
Green Machines: Understanding the Interplay Between Natural and Human-Induced Factors on Plant Life submission deadline 27 Feb 2026 | 3 articles | Viewed by 3120 | Submission Open
Keywords: plants responses to extreme conditions; population dynamics under varying conditions; human impacts on plant communities; biodiversity; physiology
(This special issue belongs to the Section Plant Ecology)
Natural Products of Medicinal Plants: Isolation, Purification and Bioactivity Evaluation
edited by Dušanka Kitić, and
submission deadline 28 Feb 2026 | 36 articles | Viewed by 97415 | Submission Open
Keywords: natural products; medicinal plants; secondary metabolites; bioactivity
(This special issue belongs to the Section Phytochemistry)
New Strategies for the Control of Plant-Parasitic Nematodes
edited by
submission deadline 28 Feb 2026 | 8 articles | Viewed by 19683 | Submission Open
Keywords: plant-parasitic nematodes; nematode management; chemical control; biological control; nematode-resistant; crop protection
(This special issue belongs to the Section Plant Protection and Biotic Interactions)
The Impact of Nanomaterials on Plant Growth, Development and Metabolism, Third Edition submission deadline 28 Feb 2026 | 1 articles | Viewed by 9265 | Submission Open
Keywords: nanoparticles; bioactive metabolites; nanofertilizers; genetic transformation; plant disease control; plant growth; nanopesticides; nanotoxicity
(This special issue belongs to the Section Plant Development and Morphogenesis)
Advances in Microbial Solutions for Sustainable Agriculture
edited by
submission deadline 28 Feb 2026 | 5 articles | Viewed by 7187 | Submission Open
Keywords: plant– pathogen interaction; biological control; biofertilizers; biopesticides; interkingdom signaling between plants and plant-associated bacteria
(This special issue belongs to the Section Plant Protection and Biotic Interactions)
Plant Functioning Under Abiotic Stress submission deadline 28 Feb 2026 | 6 articles | Viewed by 6808 | Submission Open
Keywords: accumulation; adaptive mechanisms; avoidance; crops; detoxication; homeostasis; hormesis; hyperaccumulators; mechanisms; metabolome; microbiome; nitro-oxidative stress; nutrients; phytoremediation; phytotoxicity; sequestration; signaling molecules; tolerance; translocation; transporters; uptake
(This special issue belongs to the Section Plant Response to Abiotic Stress and Climate Change)
Post-Dispersal Seed Behavior: Dormancy, Germination, Viability, and Mortality
edited by
submission deadline 28 Feb 2026 | 5 articles | Viewed by 6397 | Submission Open
Keywords: storage; temperature; light; functional plant traits; plant propagules; reproductive traits
(This special issue belongs to the Section Plant Development and Morphogenesis)
Physiological and Ecological Responses of Arctic and Alpine Plants to Climate Change
edited by and Guoyan Wang
submission deadline 28 Feb 2026 | 6 articles | Viewed by 4181 | Submission Open
Keywords: arctic and alpine environments; climate change; extreme climate events; biotic interaction; eco-physiological response; phenology; plant and population; community ecology; seed ecology; phenotypic plasticity; adaptive evolution
(This special issue belongs to the Section Plant Ecology)
Advancement in Gene Expression Regulation in Plants: Coordinating Growth, Development, and Stress Resilience
edited by Fei Liu, and Guogen Yang
submission deadline 28 Feb 2026 | 4 articles | Viewed by 3971 | Submission Open
Keywords: gene expression regulation; plant-environment interactions; transcription factors; epigenetic modifications; non-coding RNAs; transcriptomics; functional genomics; stress responses; sustainable agriculture
(This special issue belongs to the Section Plant Molecular Biology)
Advances in In Vitro Culture Systems for Plant Propagation and Conservation
edited by
submission deadline 28 Feb 2026 | 2 articles | Viewed by 3406 | Submission Open
Keywords: germplasm; repository; cryopreservation; clonal
(This special issue belongs to the Section Plant Development and Morphogenesis)
Crop Functional Genomics and Biological Breeding—2nd Edition
edited by , Jie Huang, and
submission deadline 28 Feb 2026 | 5 articles | Viewed by 3395 | Submission Open
Keywords: crops; functional genomics; biological breeding; yield; resistance; seed germination; quality; genetic improvement
(This special issue belongs to the Section Plant Genetics, Genomics and Biotechnology)
Environmental Effects on Nutrient Composition and Pharmaceutical Properties of Various Plants submission deadline 28 Feb 2026 | 3 articles | Viewed by 3127 | Submission Open
Keywords: plant stress response; changes in metabolite profile; changes in nutrients in response to stress; medicinal properties of stress-induced metabolites; abiotic and biotic stress; polyphenols and flavonoids; xenohormesis
Genetic Breeding and Quality Improvement of Tea
edited by Liyuan Wang
submission deadline 28 Feb 2026 | 2 articles | Viewed by 2912 | Submission Open
Keywords: tea plant (Camellia sinensis); molecular mechanism; secondary metabolites; stress response; nitrogen absorption; quality-related components; genetic identification; QTL mapping; molecular functional markers
(This special issue belongs to the Section Plant Genetics, Genomics and Biotechnology)
Wheat Breeding for Disease Resistance
edited by Yinghui Li
submission deadline 28 Feb 2026 | 3 articles | Viewed by 2787 | Submission Open
Keywords: wheat; pathogens; resistance gene; plant immunity; wheat breeding; resistance mechanism
(This special issue belongs to the Section Plant Protection and Biotic Interactions)
Photosynthesis and Plant Physiology Under Climate Change
edited by and Milan Borišev
submission deadline 28 Feb 2026 | 2 articles | Viewed by 2735 | Submission Open
Keywords: heat and drought stress; photosynthetic efficiency; plant robustness; acclimatization strategies; climate resilience
(This special issue belongs to the Section Plant Physiology and Metabolism)
Systems-Level Understanding of Plant Adaptation to Abiotic Stress: Physiological and Biochemical Perspectives submission deadline 28 Feb 2026 | 4 articles | Viewed by 2616 | Submission Open
Keywords: stress tolerance; transcriptomics; proteomics; metabolomics; hormonal regulation
(This special issue belongs to the Section Plant Response to Abiotic Stress and Climate Change)
Heavy Metal Tolerance in Plants and Algae—2nd Edition submission deadline 28 Feb 2026 | 2 articles | Viewed by 2372 | Submission Open
Keywords: heavy metal tolerance; heavy metal sensing; heavy metal uptake; heavy metal sequestration; phytochelatin; glutathione and oxidative stress; cysteine synthesis and degradation; heavy metal tolerance evolution; hyper and hypo accumulator plants; environmental pollutants; stress mitigation
Breeding and Comprehensive Utilization of Characteristic Economic Crops
edited by , Xia An and
submission deadline 28 Feb 2026 | 2 articles | Viewed by 2218 | Submission Open
Keywords: characteristic economic crops; breeding; cultivation practices; product processing; physiological mechanisms
(This special issue belongs to the Section Crop Physiology and Crop Production)
Transcriptome Analysis and Marker Development in Plants
edited by Deyou Qiu
submission deadline 28 Feb 2026 | 1 articles | Viewed by 1766 | Submission Open
Keywords: transcriptome analysis; marker development; single-cell transcriptomics; spatial transcriptomics; databases; plant breeding; gene discovery; environmental stresses; novel technologies; multi-omics
(This special issue belongs to the Section Plant Molecular Biology)
Genomics of Biotic and Abiotic Stress Tolerance in Cereals
edited by Gautam Saripalli and
submission deadline 28 Feb 2026 | 1 articles | Viewed by 1751 | Submission Open
Keywords: cereals; genetic mapping; biotic and abiotic stress; wild germplasm; next generation sequencing
(This special issue belongs to the Section Plant Genetics, Genomics and Biotechnology)
Advances in Jujube Research, Second Edition
edited by and
submission deadline 28 Feb 2026 | 2 articles | Viewed by 1739 | Submission Open
Keywords: jujube; biology; breeding; genotyping; metabolomics; nutrition; post-harvest treatment
(This special issue belongs to the Section Horticultural Science and Ornamental Plants)
Molecular Diagnosis of Plant Pathogenic Bacteria and Disease Management Strategies submission deadline 28 Feb 2026 | 1 articles | Viewed by 1703 | Submission Open
Keywords: phytopathogenic bacteria; diagnostics; molecular tools; bacterial plant diseases; prevention; control
(This special issue belongs to the Section Plant Protection and Biotic Interactions)
Virus-Induced Diseases in Horticultural Plants
edited by and Ved Prakash
submission deadline 28 Feb 2026 | 2 articles | Viewed by 1700 | Submission Open
Keywords: viral disease; resistance factors; disease management
(This special issue belongs to the Section Horticultural Science and Ornamental Plants)
Phytochemical Analysis and Metabolic Profiling in Plants—2nd Edition submission deadline 28 Feb 2026 | 2 articles | Viewed by 1498 | Submission Open
Keywords: phytochemical analysis; UHPLC-HRMS; clustering; data analysis; secondary metabolites
(This special issue belongs to the Section Phytochemistry)
Functional Genomics of Cucurbit Species
edited by and
submission deadline 28 Feb 2026 | 1 articles | Viewed by 1359 | Submission Open
Keywords: genome assembly; pan-genomes; SNPs; INDELs; genome-assisted breeding; MAGIC populations; GWAS; MAS; genomic prediction; transformation; gene editing; cucumber; cucurbitaceae; melon; watermelon; cucurbita
(This special issue belongs to the Section Plant Genetics, Genomics and Biotechnology)
The Impact of Stress Conditions on Crop Quality
edited by and Nicoleta Hadaruga
submission deadline 28 Feb 2026 | 1 articles | Viewed by 1357 | Submission Open
Keywords: crop quality; biotic and abiotic stressors; physiological mechanisms; molecular pathways
(This special issue belongs to the Section Crop Physiology and Crop Production)
Bioactive Compounds in Plants: Sources, Identification and Applications
edited by and Sonia Floris
submission deadline 28 Feb 2026 | 1 articles | Viewed by 985 | Submission Open
Keywords: plant extract; bioactive compounds; enzyme inhibition; antioxidant activity; chemical composition; biological activity; human diseases
(This special issue belongs to the Section Phytochemistry)
Biosystematics and Breeding Application in Triticeae Species
edited by and Yinghui Li
submission deadline 28 Feb 2026 | 1 articles | Viewed by 983 | Submission Open
Keywords: Triticeae biosystematics; alien germplasm; gene mining; chromosome engineering; resource conservation
(This special issue belongs to the Section Plant Genetics, Genomics and Biotechnology)
Soil Contaminants, Their Transformation and Effects on Microbiome and Plants submission deadline 28 Feb 2026 | 1 articles | Viewed by 972 | Submission Open
Keywords: ecotoxicity; soil contamination  ; soils and food security  ; threats to and protection of soils  ; soil microbiology  ; risk assessment  ; phytotoxicity
(This special issue belongs to the Section Plant–Soil Interactions)
Advances in Plant Genome Editing and Transformation
edited by
submission deadline 28 Feb 2026 | 1 articles | Viewed by 944 | Submission Open
Keywords: genome editing; plant transformation; genetic improvement; CRISPR; artificial intelligence
(This special issue belongs to the Section Plant Genetics, Genomics and Biotechnology)
Genetic and Biological Diversity of Plants—2nd Edition
edited by Zhonglong Guo and Lei Li
submission deadline 28 Feb 2026 | 2 articles | Viewed by 772 | Submission Open
Keywords: multi-omics; plant diversity; plant– insect– microbe interactions; databases; non-coding RNA
(This special issue belongs to the Section Plant Genetics, Genomics and Biotechnology)
Angiosperm Diversification and Phylogenetic Relationships
edited by Liangsheng Zhang and Douglas E. Soltis
submission deadline 28 Feb 2026 | 1 articles | Viewed by 677 | Submission Open
Keywords: angiosperms; gene families; genomes; diversification; phylogenomics
(This special issue belongs to the Section Plant Ecology)
Innovative Fertilization Strategies for Sustainable Agriculture submission deadline 28 Feb 2026 | 1 articles | Viewed by 663 | Submission Open
Keywords: soil fertility; fertilization strategies; sustainable crop production; organic amendments; nutrient use efficiency
(This special issue belongs to the Section Plant–Soil Interactions)
Back to TopTop