Guest Editors
Dr. Sikandar Amanullah, College of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin, CHINA
Email: sikandaraman@yahoo.com
Dr. Muhammad Irfan Siddique, Mountain Horticultural Crops Research and Extension Center, Department of Horticultural Science, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, United States
Email: msiddiq5@ncsu.edu
Summary
Crops are used to diversify the human diet, improve health, and enhance the living environment. Crops have a complex genetic basis that makes it difficult to develop improved agronomic, physiological, and nutritional quality traits. Multiple abiotic and biotic stressors (such as salts, droughts, climate change, heavy metals, disease attacks, minerals, nutrients, etc.) severely impair crop yield, quality, and other associated traits. In recent years, numerous biotechnological (genetics and breeding approaches) and biological strategies (not limited to those based on emerging OMICS technologies) have significantly assisted in increasing sustainable crop production, with improved yields, quality, and better environmental adaptability. However, studies on the genetic diversity of crops are not comprehensive enough, and the genetic basis of crop-specific traits has not been systematically analysed. Thus, it is necessary to explore the potential variation of related traits based on unique genetics, genomics, phenomics, and physiology-based research that would offer vital insights for an in-depth understanding of advanced, significant regulatory mechanisms in crop plants, aiming at the development of improved varieties. Thus, it is imperative to explore the new genetic variations of related traits at the physiological and molecular levels to discover and utilize the key novel genetic resources.
The multi-direction studies (not restricted to particulars) on the genetics, genomics, breeding, pathology, and physiology aspects of large agricultural plant species are the focus of this special issue. We warmly invite manuscripts that emphasise useful biological applications and cutting-edge biotechnological techniques for enhancing crop productivity under broad scenarios.
Scope of the Special Issue:
• Emerging research on genetics, genomics, and physiology of crop plants.
• Application of improved biological methods for crop cultivation.
• Emerging OMICS and genome editing tools for crop improvement.
• Implementation of modern plant breeding and genetic engineering techniques.
• Usage of plant growth regulators to promote crop productivity under various stresses.
• Genome-wide exploration of functional genes governing specific traits.
• Genetic mapping, QTL, Marker-assisted selection (MAS) and GWAS-based research.
Keywords
crop production, sustainable agriculture, plant growth regulators, plant biotechnology, biotic and abiotic stress resilience, plant pathology, molecular genetics and breeding, molecular markers, marker-assisted selection (MAS)
Published Papers