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Plants
Special Issues
Protected Cultivation of Horticultural Crops: Advances and Sustainability
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Protected Cultivation of Horticultural Crops: Advances and Sustainability

A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant Response to Abiotic Stress and Climate Change".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 April 2024) | Viewed by 2451

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Weijie Jiang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Vegetables and Flowers, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), Zhongguancun South Street 12, Haidian District, Beijing 100086, China
Interests: greenhouse cultivation; sludge composting; compost quality; vegetable
Dr. Wenna Zhang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Horticulture, China Agriculture University, Qinghuadonglu 17, Haidian District, Beijing 100083, China
Interests: greenhouse cultivation; protected sultivation; vegetables

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Protected cultivation, also known as controlled environment agriculture or greenhouse cultivation, is a modern agricultural practice used to grow horticultural crops under controlled environmental conditions. This method provides several advantages, including protection from adverse weather, pests, and diseases, as well as the ability to optimize growing conditions for maximum crop yield and quality. It typically utilizes greenhouse structures that allow growers to control various environmental factors such as temperature, humidity, light intensity, and CO2 levels, maintaining ideal conditions for plant growth. This cultivation method is suitable for various horticultural crops, including vegetables, fruits, flowers, and ornamental plants, enabling year-round production, disease and pest management, extended growing seasons, improved crop quality, and prolonged post-harvest freshness.

At present, protected cultivation of horticultural crops has evolved significantly with a strong emphasis on sustainability. This Special Issue will welcome all research related to protective cultivation, including but not limited to the following research:

  • Greenhouse Technology;
  • Hydroponics and Soilless Cultivation;
  • Fertigation;
  • Integrated Pest Management;
  • Vertical Farming;
  • Sustainable Substrates;
  • Organic and Sustainable Practices.

Prof. Dr. Weijie Jiang
Dr. Wenna Zhang
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

  • controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA)
  • protected cultivation
  • greenhouse
  • tunnel
  • hydroponics
  • soilless cultivation
  • vertical farming

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 8667 KiB  
Article
Growth and Physiological Characteristics of Strawberry Plants Cultivated under Greenhouse-Integrated Semi-Transparent Photovoltaics
by Theodoros Petrakis, Paraskevi Ioannou, Foteini Kitsiou, Angeliki Kavga, George Grammatikopoulos and Nikos Karamanos
Plants 2024, 13(6), 768; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants13060768 - 08 Mar 2024
Viewed by 715
Abstract
The integration of semi-transparent photovoltaics into the roof of greenhouses is an emerging technique used in recent years, due to the simultaneous energy and food production from the same piece of land. Although shading in many cases is a solution to maintain the [...] Read more.
The integration of semi-transparent photovoltaics into the roof of greenhouses is an emerging technique used in recent years, due to the simultaneous energy and food production from the same piece of land. Although shading in many cases is a solution to maintain the desired microclimate, in the case of photovoltaic installations, the permanent shading of the crop is a challenge, due to the importance of light to the growth, morphogenesis, and other critical physiological processes. In this study, the effect of shade from semi-transparent photovoltaics on a strawberry crop (Fragaria x ananassa Duch.) was examined, in terms of growth and quality (phenolic and flavonoid concentration of fruits). According to the results, in non-shaded plants, there was a trend of larger plants, but without a significant change in leaf number, while the total number of flowers was slightly higher at the end of the cultivation period. Moreover, it was found that the percentage change between the number of ripe fruits was smaller than that of the corresponding change in fruit weight, implying the increased size of the fruits in non-shaded plants. Finally, regarding the antioxidant capacity, it was clearly demonstrated that shading increased the total phenolic content, as well as the free-radical-scavenging activity of the harvested fruits. Although the shading from the semi-transparent photovoltaics did not assist the production of large fruits, it did not affect their number and increased some of their quality characteristics. In addition, the advantageous impact of the semi-transparent photovoltaics in the energy part must not be neglected. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Protected Cultivation of Horticultural Crops: Advances and Sustainability)
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15 pages, 3392 KiB  
Article
Optimized Design of Irrigation Water-Heating System and Its Effect on Lettuce Cultivation in a Chinese Solar Greenhouse
by Liangjie Guo, Xinyi Chen, Shiye Yang, Ruimin Zhou, Shenyan Liu and Yanfei Cao
Plants 2024, 13(5), 718; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants13050718 - 04 Mar 2024
Viewed by 656
Abstract
In cold regions, the low irrigation water temperature is an important factor of low-temperature stress for greenhouse crops. In this paper, an irrigation water-heating system (IWHS) is proposed to increase the water temperature by utilizing the excess heat in the solar greenhouse. The [...] Read more.
In cold regions, the low irrigation water temperature is an important factor of low-temperature stress for greenhouse crops. In this paper, an irrigation water-heating system (IWHS) is proposed to increase the water temperature by utilizing the excess heat in the solar greenhouse. The heat-collection capacity of the system was analyzed by screening the IWHS process parameters in a Chinese solar greenhouse, and a warm-water irrigation experiment for lettuce was conducted. The results demonstrated that the water temperature increased with the increase in wind speed, and the increase in daily average water temperature reached the maximum value of 8.6 °C at 4.5 m/s wind speed. When the heat exchanger was installed at a height of 3.0 m, the collector capacity increased by 17.8% and 6.0% compared with the heating capacity at 0 m and 1.5 m, respectively, and the operation termination water temperature was 22.0–32.2 °C and its coefficient of performance (COP) was optimal. Surface darkening of the heat exchanger did not affect the heat-collection capacity of the system. Using the IWHS effectively improved the temperature of lettuce irrigation water in the Chinese solar greenhouse. The increased frequency of warm-water irrigation significantly promoted lettuce growth and increased the average yield per plant by 15.9%. Therefore, IWHS effectively increased the irrigation water temperature in a Chinese solar greenhouse in winter. Improving the system would enhance its economic and application value. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Protected Cultivation of Horticultural Crops: Advances and Sustainability)
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14 pages, 4906 KiB  
Article
Serratia marcescens LYGN1 Reforms the Rhizosphere Microbial Community and Promotes Cucumber and Pepper Growth in Plug Seedling Cultivation
by Xu Zhang, Jinxin Peng, Xiaodong Hao, Guifang Feng, Yanhui Shen, Guanghui Wang and Zhiqun Chen
Plants 2024, 13(5), 592; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants13050592 - 22 Feb 2024
Viewed by 504
Abstract
The vegetable plug seedling plays an important role in improving vegetable production. The process of plug seedling contributes to high-quality vegetable seedlings. The substrate composition and chemical fertilizer are widely studied to promote seedling growth. However, little is known about the effect of [...] Read more.
The vegetable plug seedling plays an important role in improving vegetable production. The process of plug seedling contributes to high-quality vegetable seedlings. The substrate composition and chemical fertilizer are widely studied to promote seedling growth. However, little is known about the effect of beneficial bacteria in the rhizosphere microbial community and vegetables’ growth during plug seedling. The use of beneficial microbes to promote vegetable seedling growth is of great potential. In this study, we showed that the Serratia marcescens strain LYGN1 enhanced the growth of cucumber and pepper seedlings in plug seedling cultivation. The treatment with LYGN1 significantly increased the biomass and the growth-related index of cucumber and pepper, improving the seedling quality index. Specifically, LYGN1 also improved the cucumber and pepper root system architecture and increased the root diameter. We applied high-throughput sequencing to analyze the microbial community of the seedlings’ rhizosphere, which showed LYGN1 to significantly change the composition and structure of the cucumber and pepper rhizosphere microbial communities. The correlation analysis showed that the Abditibacteriota and Bdellovibrionota had positive effects on seedling growth. The findings of this study provide evidence for the effects of Serratia marcescens LYGN1 on the cucumber and pepper rhizosphere microbial communities, which also promoted seedling quality in plug seedling cultivation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Protected Cultivation of Horticultural Crops: Advances and Sustainability)
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