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Horticulturae
Special Issues
Cultivation Practices and New Technologies in Sustainable Horticulture
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Cultivation Practices and New Technologies in Sustainable Horticulture

A special issue of Horticulturae (ISSN 2311-7524). This special issue belongs to the section "Protected Culture".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 October 2023) | Viewed by 2167

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Ewa Furmanczyk

E-Mail
Guest Editor
National Institute of Horticultural Research, 96-100 Skierniewice, Poland
Interests: organic farming; biofertilizers; agroecosystem; horticulture; biological control; integrated pest management; microbial inocula; pome fruits; stone fruits; bioremediation; functional biodiversity; organic orchard management; soft fruits; plant-pathogen interaction; agroecology; living mulches; repellent; attractant; insect monitoring; insect trap; sustainable horticulture; microbial biodiversity; nematodes; nematodes biodiversity; indicators
Prof. Dr. Lidia Sas-Paszt

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
National Institute of Horticultural Research, 96-100 Skierniewice, Poland
Interests: biofertilizers; rhizosphere; beneficial microorganisms; organic biofertilizers; bioinocula; sustainable argiculture

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The inescapable worldwide imperative to promote a reduction in the use of chemical fertilizers and plant protection products is generating a growing interest among farmers and growers in terms of environmentally friendly agricultural practices and new technologies, enforcing a global evolution towards more sustainable horticulture.

These strategies include innovative field and orchard management practices (e.g. multifunctional cover crops, flower strips, microbial-based fertilisers, etc.), to improve overall biodiversity and soil fertility. The use of organic fertilizers, especially those derived from recycled materials, along with plant extracts or essential oils and microbial-based biostimulants or biological controlling agents is also gaining increasing interest. However, several aspects of these innovative practices still need to be addressed to further promote their adoption in practice.

Understanding the network of interactions between applied practices and field or orchard environments could be the first step towards developing a targeted and, at the same time, sustainable green revolution in modern agriculture. These knowledge gaps require a multidisciplinary approach, assessing the impact of cultivation practices and novel biotechnologies on plant yield and health and on the soil fertility and nutrient availability, as well as on below-ground and above-ground biodiversity and economic benefits for farmers.

This Special Issue welcomes both original research articles and reviews focused on the practices mentioned above and their assessed impacts by using diverse methods (e.g. agronomical, molecular, physiological, chemical/biochemical, physical, social science, and economic, etc.) that can shed light on and improve our understanding of sustainable horticulture.

Dr. Ewa Furmanczyk
Prof. Dr. Lidia Sas-Paszt
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

  • microbial-based products
  • organic fertilizers
  • biostimulants
  • cover crops
  • soil management
  • biological control agents
  • organic farming
  • sustainable production
  • plant extracts
  • biopesticides

Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

22 pages, 3027 KiB  
Article
Soilless-Grown Green and Purple Basil Response to High Tunnel Photo-Selective Covering Films
by Fritzner Pierre, Kathleen Demchak, Matthew Cooper, Myungjin Lee and Francesco Di Gioia
Horticulturae 2024, 10(1), 33; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae10010033 - 28 Dec 2023
Viewed by 1650
Abstract
Protected cultivation systems, such as high tunnels, have gained popularity for their ability to enhance growth conditions and extend the growing season of horticultural crops. The choice of the covering film in these systems can significantly impact crop productivity and quality while influencing [...] Read more.
Protected cultivation systems, such as high tunnels, have gained popularity for their ability to enhance growth conditions and extend the growing season of horticultural crops. The choice of the covering film in these systems can significantly impact crop productivity and quality while influencing pest and pathogen incidence. This study aimed to evaluate the yield, physiological responses, and nutritional quality of green and purple basil grown in high tunnels using different plastic film covers. The study was conducted in Central Pennsylvania using twelve research high tunnels covered with four alternative polyethylene films with varying light diffusion and ultraviolet (UV) radiation transparency levels: TuffLite IV (TIV), KoolLite Plus (KLP), UV-transparent (UVT), and UV-opaque (UVO). Green ‘Genovese Compact Improved’ and purple ‘Amethyst Improved’ basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) cultivars were grown as test crops. The plastic covering film had a significant effect on the growth of both basil cultivars, with a significant interaction between the film and basil genotype. Green basil generally exhibited higher fresh and dry biomass compared to purple basil, and the film effect varied with the basil genotype. Leaf area, stem, leaf, and total plant biomass were influenced by the plastic cover, with UVO and UVT films resulting in higher biomass production. The plastic covering films showed varying effects on the mineral content, total chlorophyll, carotenoids, total phenolic compounds, and antioxidant activity, with UVO and UVT films often resulting in improved nutritional quality compared to traditional films. Furthermore, covering films influenced the downy mildew severity on both cultivars and the UVT film consistently limited the severity of the foliar disease in both genotypes. Overall, this study highlights the importance of selecting appropriate plastic covering films with varying levels of UV transparency in high tunnel production systems. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cultivation Practices and New Technologies in Sustainable Horticulture)
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