Special Issue on Innovative and Sustainable Crop Protection

Applied Plant Science (APS) will launch in early 2027 as a sister journal to Molecular Plant and Plant Communications. The journal publishes translational and applied-oriented plant research, advanced biotechnologies, innovative applications of plants and plant sciences, as well as interdisciplinary research, aiming to become a high-quality open-access journal in the plant science category.

To showcase recent advances and emerging trends in innovative and sustainable crop protection, the Editorial Team of Applied Plant Science will publish a special issue on "Innovative and Sustainable Crop Protection", in coordination with the concurrent special issues on "Molecular Plant-Biotic Interactions" in Molecular Plant and Plant Communications.

We invite researchers worldwide to submit original research articles, broadly useful methods/resources, and forward-looking reviews addressing all aspects of crop protection. Should you want to submit a Review article, we recommend that you send a presubmission inquiry via aps@cemps.ac.cn before formal submission. Topics of interest include but are not limited to:

• Mechanisms of plant immunity and resistance to pathogens and pests
• Harnessing plant-microbiome interactions for biological control: beneficial microbes, root microbiota, and endophytes
• The role of plant hormones, secondary metabolites, and signaling pathways as resources for durable crop protection
• Genetic and epigenetic regulation of defense traits and their deployment in resistance breeding
• Molecular mechanisms of pathogen and pest virulence, effector biology, and counter-defense
• Integrated pest and disease management in multi-species and multi-trophic agricultural environments
• Co-evolution between crops and their biotic stressors: implications for resistance durability
• Emerging technologies for crop protection: gene editing, RNA-based and biopesticide approaches, engineered microbiomes, AI and multi-omics
• Translational research bridging fundamental studies and sustainable, field-ready crop protection with reduced chemical inputs

Submission Deadline: October 31, 2026

Publishing Schedule: June, 2027

Submission site:

https://www.editorialmanager.com/apsx/default.aspx

Article processing charges (APC):

Articles accepted for this special issue will be published free of charge (APC waived).

Editorial team

Applied Plant Science (APS)

Contact: aps@cemps.ac.cn