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Horticulturae
Special Issues
Soil and Water Management in Horticulture
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Soil and Water Management in Horticulture

A special issue of Horticulturae (ISSN 2311-7524).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 28 February 2025 | Viewed by 8316

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Kiril Bahcevandziev

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Agricultural Sciences and Technologies, Polytechnic of Coimbra, College of Agriculture, 3045-601 Coimbra, Portugal
Interests: seaweeds; organic fertilizers; plant biotechnology; horticulture
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. José Manuel Monteiro Gonçalves

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Agricultural Sciences and Technologies, Polytechnic of Coimbra, College of Agriculture, 3045-601 Coimbra, Portugal
Interests: irrigation systems; water use in agriculture; water resources; decision support systems
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues，

The adaptation of horticulture to global changes, soil degradation and water scarcity involves new technical and management solutions, particularly in dryer areas. This issue is emergent due to the adverse impacts of global and climatic changes threatening to reduce the water available for agriculture and the increased demands of society for horticultural products and services, such as food, medicinal, environmental, and social ones. The digitization of agriculture offers new solutions to deal with many of the new problems, through information technologies that enhance the collection of data by sensor systems, the automation of many processes allowing to optimize the effectiveness of operations and the efficiency of the use of resources, eventuating in greater sustainability and resilience of agricultural production. New developments are appearing, such as: the water management of irrigation systems, including hydroponic with the inherent irrigation scheduling, and fertigation; monitoring of soil moisture, salinity, nutrients, plants and weather, and communication technologies systems to support the crop and soil management.

This Special Issue will focus on recent developments of horticultural technology and practice, particularly related with water and soil management. These developments will contribute to clarify some current questions and point out feasible solutions for specific real problems, particularly on water scarcity and soil conservation contexts.

Submissions on the following topics are encouraged: (1) Irrigation management, including scheduling optimization, and systems operation control and automation aiming water and energy savings. (2) Crop management and fertilization, including crop local and remote sensing, controlled deficit irrigation and yield optimization. (3) Soil management techniques like organic and mineral fertilization, tillage intensity, application of manure, biochar and char, mulching, seaweeds, and plant residue management. (4) Management strategies controlling nutrient input and losses applying digital and precision techniques and modelling.

Prof. Dr. Kiril Bahcevandziev
Dr. José Manuel Monteiro Gonçalves
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. Horticulturae is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly 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 2200 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

  • food production
  • irrigation water demand
  • soil water management
  • fertigation management
  • precision irrigation
  • digital horticulture

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

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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17 pages, 14654 KiB  
Article
Estimation of Evaporation and Drought Stress of Pistachio Plant Using UAV Multispectral Images and a Surface Energy Balance Approach
by Hadi Zare Khormizi, Hamid Reza Ghafarian Malamiri and Carla Sofia Santos Ferreira
Horticulturae 2024, 10(5), 515; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae10050515 - 16 May 2024
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1184
Abstract
Water scarcity is a critical abiotic stress factor for plants in arid and semi-arid regions, impacting crop development and production yield and quality. Monitoring water stress at finer scales (e.g., farm and plant), requires multispectral imagery with thermal capabilities at centimeter resolution. This [...] Read more.
Water scarcity is a critical abiotic stress factor for plants in arid and semi-arid regions, impacting crop development and production yield and quality. Monitoring water stress at finer scales (e.g., farm and plant), requires multispectral imagery with thermal capabilities at centimeter resolution. This study investigates drought stress in pistachio trees in a farm located in Yazd province, Iran, by using Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) images to quantify evapotranspiration and assess drought stress in individual trees. Images were captured on 10 July 2022, using a Matrix 300 UAV with a MicaSense Altum multispectral sensor. By employing the Surface Energy Balance Algorithm for Land (SEBAL), actual field evapotranspiration was accurately calculated (10 cm spatial resolution). Maps of the optimum crop coefficient (Kc) were developed from the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) based on standard evapotranspiration using the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) 56 methodology. The comparison between actual and standard evapotranspiration allowed us to identify drought-stressed trees. Results showed an average and maximum daily evaporation of 4.3 and 8.0 mm/day, respectively, in pistachio trees. The real crop coefficient (Kc) for pistachio was 0.66, contrasting with the FAO 56 standard of 1.17 due to the stress factor (Ks). A significant correlation was found between Kc and NDVI (R2 = 0.67, p < 0.01). The regression model produced a crop coefficient map, valuable to support precise irrigation management and drought prevention, considering the heterogeneity at the farm scale. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soil and Water Management in Horticulture)
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23 pages, 2763 KiB  
Article
Seaweed Polysaccharides as Potential Biostimulants in Turnip Greens Production
by Mariana Mamede, João Cotas, Leonel Pereira and Kiril Bahcevandziev
Horticulturae 2024, 10(2), 130; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae10020130 - 30 Jan 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1709
Abstract
Seaweed polysaccharides can act as substitutes for synthetic compounds present in commercial stimulants and fertilizers used in agriculture to improve crop yields and vigor. In this study, three different polysaccharides (alginate, agar, and carrageenan) were extracted from one brown seaweed, Saccorhiza polyschides, [...] Read more.
Seaweed polysaccharides can act as substitutes for synthetic compounds present in commercial stimulants and fertilizers used in agriculture to improve crop yields and vigor. In this study, three different polysaccharides (alginate, agar, and carrageenan) were extracted from one brown seaweed, Saccorhiza polyschides, and two red seaweeds, Gracilaria gracilis and Chondrus crispus, respectively, and applied to potted turnip greens (Brassica napus L.), with the intention to analyze their impact on plant growth, development, and metabolism. Turnip greens treated with polysaccharides, especially carrageenan of C. crispus, showed the best results in improving the crop productivity in terms of plant length and weight, number of leaves, nutrient and pigment content, and soil fertility compared with turnip greens from the negative control or those treated with a commercial leaf fertilizer. λ-carrageenan extracted from the tetrasporophyte generation of C. crispus had the highest bioactivity and positive effect on turnip greens among all treatments. λ-carrageenan has been shown to improve plant growth; increase the plant’s biomass (plant leaves: CC(T) (40.80 ± 5.11 g) compared to the positive control (15.91 ± 15.15 g)) and root system; enhance photosynthetic activity; increase the uptake of soil nutrients; and protect plants against abiotic and biotic stresses, stimulating the production of secondary metabolites and managing its defense pathways. Seaweed-extracted polysaccharides have the potential to be used in sustainable agriculture. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soil and Water Management in Horticulture)
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Review

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26 pages, 1405 KiB  
Review
Sustainable Water Management in Horticulture: Problems, Premises, and Promises
by Carla S. S. Ferreira, Pedro R. Soares, Rosa Guilherme, Giuliano Vitali, Anne Boulet, Matthew Tom Harrison, Hamid Malamiri, António C. Duarte, Zahra Kalantari and António J. D. Ferreira
Horticulturae 2024, 10(9), 951; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae10090951 - 6 Sep 2024
Viewed by 4316
Abstract
Water is crucial for enduring horticultural productivity, but high water-use requirements and declining water supplies with the changing climate challenge economic viability, environmental sustainability, and social justice. While the scholarly literature pertaining to water management in horticulture abounds, knowledge of practices and technologies [...] Read more.
Water is crucial for enduring horticultural productivity, but high water-use requirements and declining water supplies with the changing climate challenge economic viability, environmental sustainability, and social justice. While the scholarly literature pertaining to water management in horticulture abounds, knowledge of practices and technologies that optimize water use is scarce. Here, we review the scientific literature relating to water requirements for horticulture crops, impacts on water resources, and opportunities for improving water- and transpiration-use efficiency. We find that water requirements of horticultural crops vary widely, depending on crop type, development stage, and agroecological region, but investigations hitherto have primarily been superficial. Expansion of the horticulture sector has depleted and polluted water resources via overextraction and agrochemical contamination, but the extent and significance of such issues are not well quantified. We contend that innovative management practices and irrigation technologies can improve tactical water management and mitigate environmental impacts. Nature-based solutions in horticulture—mulching, organic amendments, hydrogels, and the like—alleviate irrigation needs, but information relating to their effectiveness across production systems and agroecological regions is limited. Novel and recycled water sources (e.g., treated wastewater, desalination) would seem promising avenues for reducing dependence on natural water resources, but such sources have detrimental environmental and human health trade-offs if not well managed. Irrigation practices including partial root-zone drying and regulated deficit irrigation evoke remarkable improvements in water use efficiency, but require significant experience for efficient implementation. More advanced applications, including IoT and AI (e.g., sensors, big data, data analytics, digital twins), have demonstrable potential in supporting smart irrigation (focused on scheduling) and precision irrigation (improving spatial distribution). While adoption of technologies and practices that improve sustainability is increasing, their application within the horticultural industry as a whole remains in its infancy. Further research, development, and extension is called for to enable successful adaptation to climate change, sustainably intensify food security, and align with other Sustainable Development Goals. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soil and Water Management in Horticulture)
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