Expanding the scope of Scientia Horticulturae

Clearly, submissions to Scientia Horticulturae must be within the scope of horticultural science. This is a critical aspect in the first acceptation or rejection of the manuscripts to be evaluated.

1. In this context, firstly, we can clarify the plant species, topics and experimental designs which should be OUT OF THE SCOPE. Many excellent manuscripts may be turned away to be published elsewhere when they fall outside the set parameters

1.1. Regarding PLANT SPECIES: cereal crops, forestry crops, medicinal crops, wine grape (not table grape), industrial crops and oleaginous crops (e.g. olive studies linked to oil production). In the case of row/agronomic crops, those yielding a product that may be used fresh (e.g. tropical vegetables, citrus, bananas, and other fruits) will be considered, while those papers describing the processing of the product (e.g. rubber, tobacco, and quinine) will not.

1.2. Regarding TOPICS: a) Phytopathological studies focused in the pathogen, plant physiology studies without a clear horticulture orientation and without an economic impact in the crop production are out of the scope. B) Plant molecular and phylogenetic studies without a clear horticulture orientation are also out of the scope together with basic molecular studies without any direct application to horticulture traits. C) Food technology studies focused in the processed product not in the fresh product (postharvest studies are inside the scope of the journal) are out of the scope of the journal. D) Crop management studies must be linked to horticultural traits, avoiding manuscript with an agronomical orientation without a clear connection between agronomical work and the horticultural traits of the crop. E) Papers on the technical aspects of horticulture (engineering, crop processing, storage, transport etc.) are to be considered only if they relate directly to the living product with a clear horticulture orientation.

1.3. Regarding the EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: several seasons are required in many phenology studies, analysis using local ecotypes without any pedigree description, and not including international references are of reduced interest. However, single season based on robust data and consideration of multiple traits with significant results may be considered as short communication. Experimental design and statistical analysis must be correct including the required replications in any phenotype or molecular study. Simple comparison (yield, morphological traits and so on) between genotypes without important physiological aspects is out of scope

On the other hand, our journal is one of the global leading sources of information for researchers of Horticulture. The knowledge we communicate must be correct, significant, novel, advance the state-of-the-art, and of interest to our readership. The growth of the journal must continue in a sustainable way. The quality of the journal will be increased by increasing its Impact Factor thus making it an attractive publishing venue for top tier research groups.

2. In this context, we can clarify ADDITIONAL SCOPES of the journal.

2.1. Regarding ACCEPTED SPECIES, A wide variety of horticultural crops could be considered, which have tremendous economic value. In the case of edible fungi (mushrooms), Scientia Horticulturae is the only Q1 journal accepting these species. We can potentiate the acceptation of papers from these species or not. Potentially medicinal crops should be included in the case of a fresh direct use, although, this becomes tricky as we get into phytochemicals, etc. Exploitation of wild germplasm resources has also great application prospects in horticulture even for non-horticultural crops.

2.2. Regarding NEW TOPICS, omics studies, biochemistry, micropropagation, breeding, plant physiology, phytopathology must be considered, if they contain information of direct significance to horticulture mainly in relation to horticulture traits of the crops. In addition, new fresh use of the crops should be of great interest together with the develop of new process and product quality of fresh fruits and vegetables. In addition, new sustainable production systems in horticulture which are focused in the horticultural crops and traits not in the technical details should be of great interest including urban horticulture, climate change and vegetable production and sustainable production systems (soilless culture, growing media or protected cultivation). Other potential area that may merit further discussion would be socio-horticulture, which includes sociological impact/implications of horticulture and incorporate the end consumer. Symbiosis between microbes and plants plays an important role, which could be considered for improving horticultural crops development

1. Original full papers (Regular Papers)
2. Review articlesshould cover a part of the subject of active current interest.
3. Short Communications
4. Book Reviews

Editors-in-Chief
J.P. Bower
Independent consultant, British Columbia, Belgium
G. Colla
University of Tuscia, Viterbo, Italy
W.W. Guo
Huazhong Agriculture University, Wuhan, China Cell engineering and citrus genetic improvement; Genetic & epigenetic studies of citrus polyploids; Integrative omics approaches to reveal the molecular mechanism of male sterility & seedlessness of citrus somatic cybrid; Citrus molecular breeding
S. Kondo
Chiba University, Chiba, Japan
P. Martinez-Gómez
Center for Edaphology and Applied Biology of the Segura River, Murcia, Spain Molecular Markers, Fruits Breeding, Fruit Genomics, Fruit Transcriptomics, Vegetable Breeding, Biotic and Abiotic stresses
B. Pennisi
University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences - Griffin Campus, Griffin, Georgia, United States
D. Schwarz
Leibniz Institute of Vegetable and Ornamental Crops, Großbeeren, Germany Optimizing strategies for protected cultivation of vegetables
Founding Editor
S.J. Wellensiek
Editorial Advisory Board
Z.L. Bie
Huazhong Agriculture University, Wuhan, China
S. Burnett
University of Maine, Orono, Maine, United States Floriculture; Greenhouse; Organic; Irrigation; Propagation; Moisture sensor
R. I. Cabrera
Rutgers University, Department of Plant Biology, New Jersey, United States
E. Candir
Mustafa Kemal University, Hatay, Turkey physiology, storage of fruit and vegetables, modified atmosphere packaging
M. Cardarelli
Research Center for Horticulture, Pontecagnano, Italy Plant tissue culture; Propagation; Ornamental and aromatic plants; Plant physiology; Biostimulants; Seed treatments and germination; Grafting
F. Cheng
M. Dorais
Laval University, Quebec, Canada
H. Ezura
University of Tsukuba Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Tsukuba, Japan
S. Garcia
Miguel Hernández University, Orihuela, Alicante, Spain Genetics; Plant breeding; Molecular markers; Marker-assisted selection; Traditional cultivars; Tomato; Genetic variability study
R.G. Guevara-Gonzáles
Autonomous University of Queretaro, Queretaro, Mexico
A. Gunes
Ankara University, Ankara, Turkey
Y.J Hao
Shandong Agricultural University College of Horticulture Science and Engineering, Tai'an, Shandong, China Molecular biology and biotechnology of fruit trees
W.B. Herppich
Leibniz Institute for Agricultural Engineering and Bioeconomy, Potsdam, Germany
C. Honda
The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-Ku, Tokyo, Japan Apple; Anthocyanin; Deciduous fruit production; Ethylene; Postharvest
X. Huang
South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China
T. Jemric
University Hospital Centre Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia Postharvest Field; Postharvest Technology of Fruits, including Storage and Postharvest Treatments; Fruit Growing and Genetic Resources
M. Karlsson
University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, Alaska, United States Controlled environment agriculture; Greenhouse production; High tunnels; Environmental plant physiology; Lighting conditions; Light emitting diodes; Hydroponics; Floriculture; Northern production conditions; Season extensions
S. Kawabata
J.D. Klein
Agricultural Research Organization Volcani Center, Bet Dagan, Israel seed, vegetable and fruit physiology; postharvest physiology, plant growth regulators, fruit tree culture and management
H. Krishna
ICAR Central Institute of Arid Horticulture, Bikaner, India Physiology of horticultural crops; Micropropagation;Mycorrhizal/ Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobia (PGPR) studies; Nursery management; Cultivation measures;Post-harvest management; Evaluation and morphological characterization of crops; Organic cultivation
M. Kyriacou
Agricultural Research Institute, Nicosia, Cyprus Horticulture; Vegetable science; Grafting; Microgreens; Fruit and vegetable quality; Ripening physiology; Postharvest physiology; Carbohydrate metabolism; Phytochemicals; Functional compounds.
C. Miranda
Public University of Navarre, Pamplona, Spain Pome fruits, Stone fruits, Viticulture, Modelling, Fruit set, Forecasting, Climate, Yield performance, Plant genetic resources, Genetic diversity, Characterization, Water management, Fertilization, Precision agriculture
B. Ouyang
Huazhong Agriculture University, Wuhan, China Abiotic stress in plants; Functional Genomics
G. Paliyath
University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada post harvest biology, fruit physiology, biochemistry, storage and technology, nutritional components in fruits, vegetables, membrane biology etc.
S.A. Petropoulos
University of Thessaly School of Agricultural Sciences, Volos, Greece Bioactive compounds; Essential oils; Fruit quality; Greenhouse production; Horticulture; Salinity; Stress physiology; Vegetable quality; Vegetable production; Water stress
M. Policarpo
Y. Rouphael
University of Napoli Federico II Department of Agriculture, Portici, Italy Greenhouse crops; Plant nutrition; Water and irrigation management; Soilless production of vegetables and ornamentals in particular substrates; Microgreens for space cultivation; Role of vegetable grafting; Beneficial microorganisms and biostimulants in horticultural plants under abiotic stress conditions
D. Savvas
Agricultural University of Athens, Athens, Greece
L. Tian
London Research and Development Centre, London, Ontario, Canada
D.W. Turner
University of Western Australia School of Agriculture and Environment, Perth, Australia
Y. Wang
University of Florida Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Gainesville, Florida, United States Flavor chemistry; Plant metabolomics; Phytochemical identification; Health benefits of plants
T. West
North Dakota State University, Fargo, North Dakota, United States
J. Wu
New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand
J. Xu
Huazhong Agriculture University, Wuhan, China Carotenoids; Flavonoids; Limonoids; Flavor; Volatile; Secondary mechanism; Sensory science