Developments in Sustainable Horticulture: Resilience, Resource Protection and Rewards

Dear Colleagues,

Sustainable horticulture is a multifaceted endeavour worthy of pursuit as we move closer to a single, globalised society with an immediate need for higher food production per area of land, lower resource use and higher production efficiencies, higher standards of living per capita, longer and healthier life expectancy and greater environmental protection, all whilst facing extreme climate events and changing consumer and labour force expectations.

The themes that need to be addressed in order to deliver resilience, resource protection and reward targets include, but are not limited to, the following: increasing plant resource use efficiency, mitigating environmental stressors and risks associated with pests, diseases and biotic resistances, enhancing nutritional outcomes and breeding better crops for diverse growth scenarios, embracing new crop development and indigenous crops, protecting pollinators and ecosystem services, encouraging technology adoption, reducing barriers to entry, educating a willing and engaged labour force, enhancing returns on investment, exploring omics-rich data for enhanced understanding and sharing knowledge and experience from all corners of the globe.

Designing, building and maintaining sustainable horticulture systems requires a collaborative effort from multiple stakeholders. It requires problem solving to move beyond the multidisciplinary (many but siloed) and interdisciplinary (collaborative efforts across disciplines) approaches and to embrace a transdisciplinary model that considers complex, problem-orientated research that includes non-academic end-users and environments.

This Special Issue calls for original research manuscripts and “thorough and thought-provoking” reviews that will enrich the readership through innovative developments in sustainable horticulture systems. We encourage the investigation of novel solutions, industry-inclusive collaborations, blue-sky research and applied sciences.

Dr. Michelle Mak
Dr. Christopher Cazzonelli
Guest Editors

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• horticultural plants
• resilience
• resource protection
• sustainable horticulture

Screening cover crops for utilization in semiarid vineyards: A greenhouse study on species nitrogen uptake and carbon sequestration potential

Mehdi Sharifi*, Khaled Salimi, Daniel Rosa, and Miranda Hart

This study examines twenty-three plant species, mainly legumes and grasses, as cover crops to improve soil health and support growth in vineyards. After a 120-day evaluation period, cover crops biomass was incorporated into the soil, and grapevine seedlings were planted in their place. Fabaceae (legumes) species exhibited up to threefold greater shoot dry weight (SDW) and root dry weight (RDW) compared to Poaceae (grasses) species. Ladino and Dutch white clover (Trifolium repens), and Clover blend were superior in SDW, total dry weight (TDW), total carbon (C) content, and total nitrogen (N) content. Fabaceae exhibited slightly higher RDW than Poaceae, with Fall rye (Secale cereale) leading at 15 g pot^-1, followed by Ladino and Dutch white clover at an average of 12 g pot^-1. Legumes, particularly clover blend and Alsike clover (Trifolium hybridum), displayed high shoot N concentration at an average of 2.95%. Root N concentration in Fabaceae was significantly higher at 1.82% compared to other plant families at 0.89%, while their root C/N ratio was lower at 18.3, contrasting with others at 27.7. Biomass production exhibited a negative relationship (R²=0.51) with soil NO₃^- concentration. Fall rye, Winfred brassica (Brassica napus), and Buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum) had the highest NUtE values (ava. 121 g g^-1). Alsike clover, ladino white clover, and clover blend showed the highest NUpE values (ava. 75%). Grape shoot N concentration positively correlated with soil NO₃^- (R² = 0.31) and cover crop C/N ratio (R² = 0.17), but negatively correlated with cover crop TDW (R² = 0.31). This study emphasizes that plants from the Fabaceae family, particularly legumes, are more efficient in C and N assimilation during their establishment phase. However, it also warns of the potential for soil mineral N depletion before these plants achieve their full biological N fixation potential.