Special Issue "New Insights into Rootstock–Scion Interactions in Horticultural Crops, Volume II"

Dear Colleagues,

Grafts are applied in several crops in horticulture, such as fruit trees, grape, vegetables, and woody ornamentals. Rootstock–scion interactions in grafts are inevitable in modern horticulture due to their extended adaptability, and improved efficiency in orchard systems incorporating modern technology.

Grafts are composite plants, which consist of two or three components: rootstocks, scion, and, in certain cases, inter-stocks. Grafting partners form a graft union and later grow as a composite plant, unifying partners in a complex metabolic system. However, the genome of partners determines their phenotypic characters, and the unified metabolic system connecting the processes located in the scion and the rootstock through complex pathways results in metabolic and phenotype modifications. Thus, rootstock–scion interactions may manifest in the agronomic features of grafted plants, which are essential for modern horticulture, including wide adaptability to pedo-climatical conditions, tolerance, or resistance to biotic and abiotic stress factors. On the other hand, phenotype modifications of the scion may improve the vegetative and generative characteristics of a variety of crops through growth control, phenology, cropping efficiency, fruit quality and decreased sensitivity to pest and disease. All of these agronomic features are based on physiological processes involving metabolite production, hormonal flux and interactions, the uptake and transport of water and nutrients, or the scion’s gene expression.

This Special Issue, ‘New Insights into Rootstock–Scion Interactions in Horticultural Crops, Volume II’, aims to present state-of-the-art research from around the world. We welcome submissions of innovative studies that consider the aforementioned areas related to scion–rootstock interactions, ranging from agronomic applicable features to the physiology of composite plants grown from a graft union.

Dr. Darius Kviklys
Dr. Geza Bujdoso
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 2000 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.

• growth control
• cropping efficiency and crop quality
• response to biotic and abiotic stress factors
• water supply and plant water potential
• nutrient uptake and transport
• hormonal interactions
• phenology characteristics
• graft compatibility