Stress Tolerance in Horticulture: From Germplasm Evaluation, Physiology, Molecular, Metabolism and Biotechnology to Plant Genetic Improvement

Dear Colleagues,

Horticultural plants are not only a source of abundant food and essential nutrients for humans, but they also have many medical and health functions. Not only that, they are very important in environmental beautification, but also play an important role in maintaining the ecological environment, reducing soil pollution, controlling atmospheric humidity and reducing dust and noise.

Currently, horticultural plants are challenged by abiotic stress factors such as climate change, heavy metal pollution, rising near-surface ozone concentrations, drought or flooding, extreme temperatures (cold, frost and high temperatures), as well as toxicity from salt alkali, mineral deficiencies and other pollutants. The negative effects of abiotic stress can lead to changes in the growth, development and metabolism of horticultural plants, and in extreme cases, can also result in plant death.

Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate how horticultural plants can tolerate and respond to abiotic stress factors.

This Special Issue welcomes submissions of research exploring the effects of different abiotic stresses on horticultural plant (fruit tree, vegetables, flower and medical plants) germplasm resources, including growth, development, absorption, accumulation and tolerance phenotype of horticultural plants. We also welcome research related to cellular oxidative stress, antioxidant and molecular level responses, induced defense and metabolic mechanisms, toxic effects, etc., as well as efforts to solve the stress problems involving physiological approaches, genetic improvement and breeding measures, agronomic cultural practice and biotechnology.

Dr. Linchuan Fang
Guest Editor

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