JIPB has had very good experiences in the past couple of years publishing Special Issues focusing on specific high-interest topics. The importance of focusing on specific topics can be seen from an increased number of views and higher frequency of citation for Special Issues compared to regular issues.

So far we have published 10 Special Issues and there are three more planned throughout 2010. Topics have ranged from specific research fields, including Rice Breeding and Functional Genomics (June 2007), Plant Cell Biology (August 2007), Plant Reproduction and Fertility (August 2009) and Plant Vascular Biology and Agriculture (January 2010) to cross-study topics, including Frontiers of Plant Molecular Biology (January 2007), Water Saving in Agriculture (October 2007), Abiotic Stresses in Plants (October 2008), Plant Responses to Climate Change (November 2008) and Crop Biology (January 2009). There was also one special thematic issue published in relation to the 75th Anniversary of the Botanical Society of China (July 2008).

Based on the success of increased readership and numbers of citations from the special issues, JIPB has decided to launch a series of “Virtual Special Issues”. These virtual issues will consist of an online collection of related articles from various issues and it is our hope that this will make them more accessible for our readers and encourage further research in the specific topics.

Our first Virtual Special Issue will bring together all JIPB articles related to rice research. Rice is the main staple food of South Asia and feeds millions of people. Population pressure and climate change calls for higher yields and improved varieties. The ongoing rice research is without doubt extremely important in order to secure the food supply for the future.