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Journals
Agronomy
Special Issues
Plant–Water Relationships for Sustainable Agriculture
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Plant–Water Relationships for Sustainable Agriculture

A special issue of Agronomy (ISSN 2073-4395). This special issue belongs to the section "Water Use and Irrigation".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 March 2024) | Viewed by 1271

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Anastasios Zotos

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Sustainable Agriculture, University of Patras, Seferi 2, 30100 Agrinio, Greece
Interests: ecology; vegetation; sustainable agriculture; plant ecophysiology; abiotic stress; precision agriculture; irrigation management
Prof. Dr. Angelos A. Patakas

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Food Science & Technology, University of Patras, Seferi 2, 30100 Agrinio, Greece
Interests: plant–water relationships; plant ecophysiology; plant stress physiology; abiotic stress; precision agriculture; smart agriculture; irrigation management

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The term “plant–water relationships” refers to the dynamic balance between a plant’s water uptake and loss, with sustainable agriculture focusing on managing this balance efficiently to maximize crop yield and water usage. The ever-increasing intensity of climate change is expected to cause unexpected changes in agriculture in the near future. Τhe limited availability of water resources for agriculture will contribute to the increase in water stress in plants with a direct impact on the quality and quantity of the agricultural products. As a result, the knowledge of changes in the eco-physiological, anatomical, molecular and morphological characteristics of plants is necessary in order to understand the mechanisms of plants to drought conditions. In this context, recent advances in metric tools such as soil moisture sensors, weather stations, sensors capable of continuous assessment of the plant water status (psychrometers, sap flow meters, thermal imagery, etc.) and automated irrigation systems could provide real-time data, thus allowing researchers and farmers to optimize irrigation use efficiency. The implementation of various computational techniques such as IoT, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and machine learning could be useful to precisely determine the optimal amount of water needed for crops. 

We invite authors to contribute to the present Special Issue with innovative research or review articles.

Dr. Anastasios Zotos
Prof. Dr. Angelos A. Patakas
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. Agronomy 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 2600 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

  • plant–water relationships
  • sustainable agriculture
  • smart agriculture
  • precision agriculture
  • plant ecophysiology
  • plant stress physiology
  • abiotic stress
  • plant water status
  • irrigation management
  • plant adaptation
  • Internet of Things (IoT)

Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

27 pages, 8233 KiB  
Article
Drought-Tolerance Screening of Date Palm Cultivars under Water Stress Conditions in Arid Regions
by Hassan Ali-Dinar, Muhammad Munir and Maged Mohammed
Agronomy 2023, 13(11), 2811; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/agronomy13112811 - 13 Nov 2023
Viewed by 969
Abstract
Drought stress poses a considerable challenge to agriculture sustainability in arid regions. Water scarcity severely affects date palm growth and productivity in these regions. However, as water resources become increasingly scarce in arid regions, understanding the drought tolerance of date palm cultivars becomes [...] Read more.
Drought stress poses a considerable challenge to agriculture sustainability in arid regions. Water scarcity severely affects date palm growth and productivity in these regions. However, as water resources become increasingly scarce in arid regions, understanding the drought tolerance of date palm cultivars becomes imperative for developing drought-resistant cultivars and optimizing irrigation water usage for sustainable agriculture. This research examines the impact of different drought stress levels based on evapotranspiration (ETc), i.e., 40%, 60%, 80%, and 100% ETc, and time intervals (0, 6, 12, 18, and 24 months) on leaf growth, net photosynthesis, chlorophyll a and b content, and leaf relative water content (LRWC) of four prominent date palm cultivars, Khalas, Barhee, Hilali, and Ashrasee. In addition, the study also examines the effects of drought stress on dry weight, potassium and calcium content of leaf, stem, and root, and proline content in fresh leaves of these four cultivars. A solar-powered drip irrigation system with automated time-based irrigation scheduling was used to accurately control the irrigation water amount. To real-time estimate ETc in the study area, meteorological data were collected using a cloud-based IoT system. The findings of this study revealed that severe drought conditions (40 and 60 % ETc) significantly reduced leaf growth, plant dry biomass, and physiological and biochemical attributes; however, date palm cultivars can be grown under moderate drought conditions (80% ETc) with minimal effect on phenotypic, physiological, and biochemical traits to conserve water. The study also revealed that the drought-related characteristics decreased gradually with an increase in water stress time over 24 months. Comparing the date palm cultivars revealed that the Khalas and Barhee cultivars are more drought-tolerant, followed by Hilali, while Ashrasee is susceptible. The study elucidated a water conservation strategy employed in response to drought-induced stress based on the physiological and morphological parameters of date palm cultivars. It provides valuable insights into irrigation practices in arid regions. However, future studies can be focused on other nondestructive innovative techniques such as pulse-amplitude-modulation (PAM) fluorimetry, infrared radiation (IR), and video imaging system (VIS) methods to identify drought stress in date palms. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant–Water Relationships for Sustainable Agriculture)
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