Dear Colleagues,

Nowadays agricultural systems have to deal with two important needs: on the one hand, to increase crops yield, and on the other, to reduce the impact of exogenous molecules such as herbicides, pesticides, fertilizers, and growth promoters on the environment. Especially in organic agriculture, the demand of natural compounds that are able to substitute the synthetic ones is increasing. In recent years, the use of microorganisms (microalgae, rhizobacteria, fungi, etc.) and their metabolic byproducts in agriculture has been increasing, such that several molecules have been used as biostimulants, biopesticides, or bioherbicides. They can be used to improve nutrient use efficiency, tolerance to abiotic stress, availability of nutrients in the rhizosphere, plant performance, competition with weeds, and pest management.

In order to support these new agricultural needs, a better understanding is needed about the effects of the microorganisms and their byproducts on the soil–plant system by focusing on the specific biochemical and physiological mechanisms.

Therefore, this Special Issue wants to elucidate the effects and roles of beneficial microorganisms and their byproducts on the soil–plant system in order to increase the knowledge within the scientific community, industries, and agronomists, and to provide a better understanding of the mode of action and application procedure of microorganisms and their by-products to different soil–plant systems.

Dr. Ivana Puglisi
Prof. Vito Armando Laudicina
Prof. Dr. Alessandro Vitale
Prof. Dr. Andrea Baglieri
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.

• biostimulants
• microorganisms
• microalgae
• mycorrhizal fungi
• rhizosphere
• plant growth
• bioherbicides
• fungicides
• pesticides
• nutrient efficiency