Novel Biocontrol Tools and Resources for Plant Protection
A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant Protection and Biotic Interactions".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 November 2023) | Viewed by 21315
Special Issue Editors
Interests: plant pathogens; disease resistance; plant–pathogen interaction; biological control
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: plant–aphid interaction; integrated pest management; herbivorous stress; host plant resistance; chemical ecology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The security and sustainability of the world’s food supply depend on plant protection (in line with Sustainable Development Goal 2 in the 2030 Agenda). Farmers have long employed synthetic pesticides to manage and eliminate pests, but these chemicals are harmful for the environment and for consumer health. The use of integrated pest management is encouraged by current regulatory frameworks in order to achieve sustainable production patterns (SDG Target 12.4) and improve food security. In particular, there should be a greater emphasis on using plant extracts as “green agrochemicals”. Numerous primary and secondary metabolites that exhibit bactericidal, fungicidal, virucidal, insecticidal, acaricidal, and nematocidal properties are produced by plants, including carbohydrates, cyanogenic glycosides, amino acids, lipids, phenols, flavonoids, anthocyanins, alkaloids, and terpenoids. The creation of formulations that can aid in crop preservation and protection requires these phytochemicals as vital raw components. However, the availability of goods made from botanicals is still limited despite the rising need for environmentally acceptable alternatives for the management of agricultural pests. Plant disease is a serious stressor that can significantly reduce the amount of food that plants produce by disrupting the equilibrium of their innate immune systems, hormone signaling pathways, transcriptional control, protein modifying, etc. For the detection of plant pathogens, real-time, visualized, quick, and sensitive technologies have recently been created. Biological techniques like transcriptomics, proteomics, VIGS, CRISPR, HIGS, and gene knock-out have also been established for identifying the molecular mechanisms underlying plant–pathogen interactions. Additionally, microbial communities are crucial in defending the environment of plants from disease invasion. The major microbes responsible for plant disease, that is, fungi, are many and diverse, but little research has been done in this field; as a result, novel taxa or cryptic species may be discovered from an evolutionary standpoint. A contemporary research hotspot is the study of fungal variety in terms of biodiversity, systematic phylogeny, and molecular evolution. This Special Issue will consider recent findings in the aforementioned research fields. In order to produce marketable biocontrol products, it is essential to identify the bioactive phytoconstituents in plant extracts. This Special Issue intends to aid the screening of promising candidate biorationals. Guest pieces (original research papers, reviews, and communications) for this Special Issue will mostly be focused on the following topics:
- Isolation, characterization, and assessment of phytochemicals with biological action against pests/pathogens in both laboratory and field settings.
- The combination of various plant extracts with other substances (g., biostimulants, nanomaterials, microbial volatiles) to increase their antibacterial, insecticidal, acaricidal, and/or nematocidal activity in a synergistic manner.
- The creation of novel formulations that use plant botanicals/plant-growth-promoting microbes (PGPMs) as active components and provide the bioactive compounds with stability, adherence, and controlled release.
- Studies on the biological and molecular mechanisms behind the action of natural products/plant–microbe interaction.
Prof. Dr. Yong Wang
Prof. Dr. Humayun Javed
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. Plants 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 2700 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
- biological control
- host-plant resistance (HPR)
- plant–microbe interaction
- plant-growth-promoting microbes (PGPM)
- microbial volatiles
- plant extracts
- secondary metabolites
- sustainable agriculture
- integrated pest management
- crop protection
- natural antibacterial products
- natural fungicide products
- natural insecticides
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
- Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
- Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
- Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
- External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
- e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.