Imaging Technology in Horticultural Production

Plant phenotyping through images is an innovative area in agriculture that is in full development. It is capable of offering faster and lower-cost solutions to important problems when compared to traditionally used methods. It is based on the use of optical methods to monitor the morphology, physiology, and biochemistry of one or several plants simultaneously, allowing assessments of responses to their interaction with the environment. To capture high-quality images, different cameras and sensors can be used to collect an extensive amount of information and plant responses. In addition, they can be combined with artificial intelligence, further enhancing the results obtained. However, in horticulture, the use of images is still incipient. Horticulture encompasses several species of great importance for the world economy and presents many challenges to be explored using images, such as monitoring plant development, defining harvest points, identifying lesions caused by pests and disease symptoms, and characterizing germplasms and response to biotic and abiotic stresses. Therefore, it is important to advance research using images in horticulture with the aim of enhancing its applications and presenting its benefits.

We accept the submission of articles from the following areas:

1. Image-based high-throughput phenotyping in horticultural crops;
2. High-throughput phenotyping to monitor growth rates and plant architecture in horticultural crops;
3. Comparison of sensors for phenotyping horticultural crops;
4. Use of images to monitor different types of biotic and abiotic stress in horticultural crops;
5. Feasibility of using images for horticultural crop production processes;
6. Using images to discover the physiological and metabolic bases of performance variations in horticultural crops.

Prof. Dr. Ana Carolina S. Siquieroli
Prof. Dr. Gabriel M. Maciel
Dr. Jose Magno Queiroz Luz
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.

• Imaging Technology
• Plant phenotyping
• Sensors
• Cameras
• Image monitoring
• Horticultural crops
• Phenotyping horticultural crops