Plants Best PhD Thesis Award—Winners Announced

We are pleased to announce the winners of the Plants Best PhD Thesis Award for 2024. This award recognizes their outstanding doctoral research, which demonstrates exceptional scholarship and significant potential for impact in their respective fields.

We are proud to congratulate the following awardees:

• Dr. Alyssa Kullberg from École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Switzerland, for her thesis entitled “Acclimation of trees to elevated growing temperatures: From concrete jungles to Boiling Rivers”;
• Dr. Avela Sogoni from Cape Peninsula University of Technology, South Africa, for the thesis “Nutraceutical, phytochemical, intercropping and morpho-physiological response of Tetragonia decumbens Mill. to salt-stress: A promising wild leafy vegetable for bio-saline agriculture in South Africa”;
• Dr. Simone Pietro Garofalo from the Council for Agricultural Research and Economics, Italy, for the work “Sustainable orchard management in semi-arid areas through remote sensing techniques”.

As the awardees, they will each receive an honorarium of CHF 500, an electronic certificate and a voucher to waive the Article Processing Charge (APC) for one submission in Plants (ISSN: 2223-7747) (subject to peer review)—valid for one year.

With so many high-quality applicants, the evaluation process and final decision were challenging. We would like to thank all the applicants for submitting their diverse and fascinating range of research topics. On behalf of the assessment committee, I congratulate the winners on their accomplishments.

Building on the success of this year's award, we are excited to announce that nominations for the Plants Best PhD Thesis Award for PHD students defending their thesis in 2025 are now open. We warmly encourage all eligible scholars to apply here.

On behalf of the Plants Best PhD Thesis Award Evaluation Committee