Flavor Biochemistry of Horticultural Plants

Dear Colleagues,

The current changes in global climate conditions present challenges for the production of horticultural plants. Additionally, consumers are also becoming more selective regarding food quality and safety. Current trends suggest that consumers seek the greatest possible variety of species and cultivars, fresh and locally grown food, and a healthy choice of foods with a favorable carbon footprint.

In this context, a deep understanding of plants' biochemical processes is becoming increasingly important, not only because they constitute the plant's response system to the environment, but also because they determine the intrinsic qualities that make the plant acceptable to the consumer, such as their flavor, which comprises taste and aroma. New technological measures during plant growth, harvest, storage, transportation, and commercialization should strive towards the optimization and improvement of the product's safety and flavor, without compromising the yield.

The focus of this Special Issue, entitled "Flavor Biochemistry of Horticultural Plants", encompasses the relationships between the following topics:

• New methods or novel identifications and quantifications of flavor markers of horticultural plants;
• Metabolic pathways that determine primary and secondary metabolites;
• Technology improvements (biostimulants, nutrition, pruning, rotation, and soil improvements, among others) that influence flavor biochemistry;
• Variations in soluble or volatile flavor markers during ripening or storage;
• Influence of pedoclimatic conditions on flavor markers;
• Consumer perceptions of the quality of products obtained by different technological approaches.

Contributions regarding fruits, vegetables, herbs, and ornamental plants are welcome in this Special Issue. Potential authors are invited to submit original research articles, review articles, opinion papers, and short communications.

Dr. Mariana Cecilia Grohar
Dr. Jerneja Jakopič
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. Horticulturae 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 2200 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.

• fruits
• vegetables
• primary metabolites
• secondary metabolites
• volatile compounds