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Sustainable Small Grain Cropping Systems: Circular Economy, Pollution Mitigation, and...
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Sustainable Small Grain Cropping Systems: Circular Economy, Pollution Mitigation, and Farmer-Centric Innovation

A special issue of Agriculture (ISSN 2077-0472). This special issue belongs to the section "Crop Production".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 August 2026 | Viewed by 1642

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Dimitrios Katsantonis

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Plant Breeding and Genetic Resources, Hellenic Agricultural Organization, Ellinikis Georgikis Sholis Avenue, 57001 Thermi-Thessaloniki, Greece
Interests: agronomy; plant pathology; precision agriculture; sustainability; phytochemistry; food science; circular economy; pollution mitigation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Ioannis G. Mylonas

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Plant Breeding and Genetic Resources, Hellenic Agricultural Organization—“Demeter”, 57001 Thessaloniki, Greece
Interests: genetics; breeding; cereals; legumes; quality; stresses; climatic change; low inputs
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Farmers’ decision-making lies at the heart of global socio-economic and environmental resilience. With agricultural systems facing mounting pressures due to climate change, resource scarcity, and market volatility, innovative solutions are required to reconcile the agricultural anthropogenic triptych: demand (food security and market needs), the environment (ecological health), and cost-effectiveness (economic viability). Small grains—such as wheat, barley, oats, and rye—play a pivotal role in this balance. When managed sustainably, they offer profitable yields for cash markets and livestock feed, while their straw byproducts are indispensable in animal production and soil health. However, achieving this potential requires a paradigm shift, integrating circular economy principles, minimizing pollution, and prioritizing the production of healthier, low-impact agricultural products.  

For this Special Issue, we welcome groundbreaking research that will advance sustainable small-grain cropping systems, fostering a transition from conventional practices to holistic, environmentally conscious strategies. We invite contributions that address the following themes:  

  • Climate-smart and low-input practices;
  • Healthier products and ecosystems;
  • Integration of the circular economy into cropping systems;
  • Farmer-centric decision-making and technology;
  • Genomic innovations to enhance ecological sustainability;
  • Pollution mitigation and climate resilience.

Dr. Dimitrios Katsantonis
Dr. Ioannis G. Mylonas
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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

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. Agriculture 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 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

  • small-grain systems
  • climate resilience
  • soil and plant health
  • food safety
  • precision farming
  • agroecological practices
  • sustainable agriculture
  • circular economy
  • pollution mitigation
  • waste valorization

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Related Special Issue

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

20 pages, 2434 KB  
Article
Genetic Diversity of Greek Rye (Secale cereale L.) Germplasm Revealed by ISSR, SCoT and Exon-Based Molecular Markers
by Iosif Sistanis, Elissavet Ninou, Eleftheria Deligiannidou, Nektaria Tsivelika and Fokion Papathanasiou
Agriculture 2026, 16(3), 333; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture16030333 - 29 Jan 2026
Viewed by 455
Abstract
Rye (Secale cereale L.) is a small-grain cereal traditionally cultivated under low-input conditions, where locally adapted populations have contributed substantially to the maintenance of genetic diversity. Despite this importance, Greek rye germplasm has received limited attention at the molecular level. In the [...] Read more.
Rye (Secale cereale L.) is a small-grain cereal traditionally cultivated under low-input conditions, where locally adapted populations have contributed substantially to the maintenance of genetic diversity. Despite this importance, Greek rye germplasm has received limited attention at the molecular level. In the present study, 33 rye accessions, including gene bank landraces, locally cultivated populations and one commercial variety, were analyzed using inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR), start codon-targeted (SCoT), and exon-based amplified polymorphism (EBAP) markers. All three marker systems generated high proportions of polymorphic loci and comparable estimates of expected heterozygosity, indicating considerable genetic variability within the studied material. Multivariate analyses revealed moderate population structuring and consistently identified a small number of genetically divergent accessions, most notably T-492, K-163, and K-166. No clear clustering according to geographical origin was detected, as in most cases of landraces or local populations. Taken together, the results provide a detailed molecular overview of Greek rye germplasm—which has never been performed before for Greek rye genetic material—and offer a useful basis for conservation priorities and future pre-breeding efforts. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Small Grain Cropping Systems: Circular Economy, Pollution Mitigation, and Farmer-Centric Innovation)
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16 pages, 735 KB  
Article
GGE Biplot Analysis for the Assessment and Selection of Bread Wheat Genotypes Under Organic and Low-Input Stress Environments
by Evangelos Korpetis, Elissavet Ninou, Ioannis Mylonas, Dimitrios Katsantonis, Nektaria Tsivelika, Ioannis N. Xynias, Alexios N. Polidoros, Dimitrios Roupakias and Athanasios G. Mavromatis
Agriculture 2026, 16(2), 146; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture16020146 - 7 Jan 2026
Viewed by 677
Abstract
Bread wheat variety development suited to organic farming conditions remains a major challenge mainly because of the high breeding costs involved and the few cultivars adapted to low-input systems. The present work explores whether early generation selection needs to take place under organic [...] Read more.
Bread wheat variety development suited to organic farming conditions remains a major challenge mainly because of the high breeding costs involved and the few cultivars adapted to low-input systems. The present work explores whether early generation selection needs to take place under organic conditions for subsequent adaptation or whether conventional testing at an early stage could be adequate. A diverse set of crosses involving Greek landraces and commercial cultivars were developed and advanced by honeycomb pedigree selection under both organic and conventional environments. Subsequently, F4 progenies and an upgraded landrace were evaluated over two years in neighboring organic and conventional trials. Both statistical and GGE biplot analyses revealed significant genotype × environment interactions. The results clearly indicate that early selection under organic conditions did not provide a consistent advantage for subsequent performance under organic management compared with conventional early selection. Genotypes derived from the Africa × Atheras cross consistently showed the highest and most stable yields across the two environments, irrespective of the early selection environment. These results indicate that genetic background and landrace-derived diversity are more important than the early selection environment for the expression of performance. A staged breeding strategy involving initial selection in conventional management followed by multi-environment testing in organic conditions can provide a cost-effective approach to developing resilient, high-yielding wheat cultivars suitable for organic farming systems, which are typically characterized by low-input management practices, and in tune with the EU targets for expanded organic farming. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Small Grain Cropping Systems: Circular Economy, Pollution Mitigation, and Farmer-Centric Innovation)
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