Abiotic Stress Priming in Horticultural Crops: Enhancing Nutritional Quality and Post-Harvest Performance

Climate change is reshaping crop production systems and threatening the quality and stability of fresh food supplies. At the same time, the rising prevalence of micronutrient deficiencies and low-quality diets highlights the need for innovative strategies that improve the nutritional value of fruits and vegetables. While abiotic stresses such as drought, salinity, heat, and light intensity are often associated with reduced productivity, growing evidence suggests that, when carefully managed, moderate stress can stimulate the accumulation of beneficial phytochemicals, antioxidants, vitamins, and other health-promoting metabolites in horticultural crops.This Research Topic aims to explore the concept of abiotic stress priming as a targeted strategy to enhance the nutritional and functional quality of fresh horticultural produce. In particular, it seeks to connect pre-harvest crop management with post-harvest performance, focusing on how controlled stress conditions applied during cultivation can shape quality traits at harvest and influence their stability during storage, distribution, and retail. By integrating plant physiology, crop management, and post-harvest biology, this Topic aims to advance a more coherent understanding of how stress-induced quality traits can be optimized, preserved, and translated into nutritional value for consumers.We welcome contributions that investigate the physiological, biochemical, and molecular mechanisms underlying stress-induced nutritional enhancement in fruits, vegetables, leafy greens, herbs, and other horticultural crops. We also encourage studies addressing the balance between yield, product quality, shelf life, and resource-use efficiency, as well as research on post-harvest strategies tailored to stress-primed produce. Through this combined perspective, the Topic aims to support the development of resilient production systems capable of delivering fresh produce with improved nutritional quality under diverse agro-climatic conditions.We invite contributions that address the nexus of abiotic stress, crop quality, and post-harvest science. Specific themes include:• Mechanisms of Nutritional Programming: Molecular, biochemical, and physiological insights into how drought, salinity, heat, or light stress modulate the accumulation of key phytonutrients (e.g., carotenoids, flavonoids, glucosinolates) in fruits, vegetables, and leafy greens.• Agronomic Optimization: Studies evaluating the trade-offs between stress-induced quality gains, yield, and resource-use efficiency in both open-field and controlled-environment agriculture.• Post-Harvest Innovations: Development of novel storage, packaging, or processing technologies specifically designed for stress-primed produce to extend its nutritional and functional shelf-life.• System Integration: Research on the scalability, consumer acceptance, and supply chain impacts of stress-valorized products.We welcome Original Research, Reviews, Methods, and Perspective articles that contribute to building this holistic, seed-to-shelf understanding. Topic editors: Ilahy Riadh, Sándor Takács, Zoltán Pék Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/79274/abiotic-stress-priming-in-horticultural-crops-enhancing-nutritional-quality-and-post-harvest-performance