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Agriculture
Special Issues
Biostimulants for Crop Growth and Abiotic Stress Mitigation
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Biostimulants for Crop Growth and Abiotic Stress Mitigation

A special issue of Agriculture (ISSN 2077-0472). This special issue belongs to the section "Crop Production".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 April 2025 | Viewed by 1097

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Juan Cristo Luis

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Botany, Ecology and Plant Physiology, University of La Laguna, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain
Interests: biotic and abiotic stress; priming; biostimulants; crop production; secondary metabolites

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Agriculture plays a fundamental role in achieving world food security. New practices and technologies must be implemented, leading to sustainable crop production while enhancing food safety and productivity. One of these new practices could be the use of plant biostimulants. The nature of biostimulants varies widely, with remarkable effects, regardless of their nutritional content, on plant growth and abiotic stress resistance. Combining these effects with their sources, biostimulants may reduce dependency on chemical fertilizers and, at the same time, increase crop resilience to stress conditions.

This Special Issue on biostimulants for crop growth (biomass and crop productivity) and abiotic stress mitigation seeks contributions with the advances in understanding how biostimulants induce plant growth and mitigate or reduce abiotic stress effects (extreme temperatures, salinity, water limitation, flooding, and heavy metals). Research that draws upon knowledge of biostimulant crop responses to develop management approaches that support crop stress biology is strongly encouraged. We welcome original research manuscripts, method papers, and systematic reviews. These include perspectives on developing new biostimulants to improve stress resilience and crop production.

Dr. Juan Cristo Luis
Guest Editor

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. Agriculture 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 2600 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

  • biostimulants
  • abiotic stress
  • crop plants
  • crop resilience
  • model plants
  • stress responses
  • biomass production
  • crop productivity

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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12 pages, 224 KiB  
Article
Evaluation of Honey as a Rooting Adjuvant for Cutting Propagation of Three Common Nursery Crops
by Anthony T. Bowden, Patricia R. Knight, Jenny B. Ryals, Christine E. H. Coker, Scott A. Langlois, Shaun R. Broderick, Eugene K. Blythe and Hamidou F. Sakhanokho
Agriculture 2025, 15(3), 256; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture15030256 - 24 Jan 2025
Viewed by 412
Abstract
Plant propagation is a labor-intensive process in the nursery and greenhouse industry, with labor accounting for 41.4% of expenditures in 2019—$4.8 billion of the $11.6 billion total. Labor availability remains a critical issue, and current methods of applying root-promoting compounds to cuttings often [...] Read more.
Plant propagation is a labor-intensive process in the nursery and greenhouse industry, with labor accounting for 41.4% of expenditures in 2019—$4.8 billion of the $11.6 billion total. Labor availability remains a critical issue, and current methods of applying root-promoting compounds to cuttings often yield inconsistent rooting responses. This research investigated honey as a rooting adjuvant and its effects on rooting in Red Cascade™ miniature rose (Rosa ‘MOORcap’), common camellia (Camellia japonica), and southern magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora ‘Little Gem’). For Red Cascade™ rose, adding honey to water-soluble indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) solutions did not improve root counts compared to IBA alone. However, 1000 µL∙L⁻1 IBA produced more roots than 250 µL∙L⁻1 IBA. Camellia and magnolia cuttings were treated with multiflora, Manuka, or commercial honey, alongside IBA rates of 0 to 4500 µL∙L⁻1. In camellia, honey type or auxin rate did not significantly affect rooting, but local and multiflora honey combined with higher IBA rates increased root counts. For magnolia, multiflora honey improved both root number and quality, outperforming other treatments. While honey showed limited benefits for camellia and rose, multiflora honey demonstrated potential economic advantages for magnolia propagation, enhancing root quality and quantity for producers. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biostimulants for Crop Growth and Abiotic Stress Mitigation)

Review

Jump to: Research

21 pages, 2661 KiB  
Review
Progress in Elucidating the Mechanism of Selenium in Mitigating Heavy Metal Stress in Crop Plants
by Shuqing Jia, Qing Guan, Yulong Niu, Ye Wang, Linling Li and Hua Cheng
Agriculture 2025, 15(2), 204; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture15020204 - 18 Jan 2025
Viewed by 454
Abstract
In the context of rapid industrialization and agricultural modernization, the issue of heavy metal (HM) pollution has surfaced as a critical concern, posing a substantial threat to human health and having a profound impact on agricultural cultivation. Selenium (Se), a beneficial micronutrient for [...] Read more.
In the context of rapid industrialization and agricultural modernization, the issue of heavy metal (HM) pollution has surfaced as a critical concern, posing a substantial threat to human health and having a profound impact on agricultural cultivation. Selenium (Se), a beneficial micronutrient for crop growth and development, exerts numerous beneficial effects, including facilitating photosynthesis, enhancing physiological attributes, improving nutritional quality, strengthening antioxidant systems, and modulating the expression of stress-responsive genes. Notably, Se plays a pivotal role in alleviating HM stress in crops and effectively mitigating the accumulation of HMs in edible plant parts. This study investigates the physiological and molecular mechanisms underlying Se’s capacity to alleviate HM stress in crops. Additionally, we discuss the application of Se-enriched fertilizers in agricultural practices, as well as the influence of environmental factors on their effectiveness. Our objective is to contribute to sustainable agricultural development and the production of safe, high-quality agricultural products, thereby providing valuable insights for the development of Se-functional industries and guiding agricultural practices in regions affected by HM pollution. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biostimulants for Crop Growth and Abiotic Stress Mitigation)
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