Low‐temperature plasma (LTP) science and technology are rapidly establishing their place in agriculture, with already existing or envisaged future commercial applications in (i) sustainable fertilizer production, (ii) food safety “from farm to fork,” and (iii) in reducing pollution and pathogens. The fact that plasma is able to generate highly reactive chemical species from electricity, water, and air makes LTP technology a very attractive alternative to many conventional chemical approaches: LTP clearly has the potential to become disruptive toward the chemical industry that currently drives agricultural growth in a centralized way. On‐demand local fertilizer production or pathogen inactivation at the farm by LTP technology will reduce the need for complex logistics. A vision for the future of LTP is to develop novel technologies that help reduce the environmental impact of agriculture, while at the same time meeting the increasing demand of our growing world population for a reliable supply of accessible and safe food.

Topics of LTP technology in agriculture include decontamination and pollution reduction; increased plant growth and yield; safe production, distribution, and consumption of food; and fundamentals of plant biology. Research interest worldwide has reached a new high, including that from increasing numbers of industrial participants.

This journal, Plasma Processes and Polymers (PPaP), has accompanied the above‐described developments in “Plasma and Agriculture” by publishing numerous research reports over the past years. A first special issue (S.I.) devoted to the topic appeared in 2018 under the guest editorships of professors M. Gherardi (Bologna, Italy), N. Puač (Belgrade, Serbia), and M. Shiratani (Fukuoka, Japan).^[1] During the intervening period, this important area of applied plasma research has continued to evolve and flourish, to the point that we are now presenting this second S.I. on this same topic.

The 3rd International Workshop on Plasma Agriculture (IWOPA 2020) was scheduled to take place from March 1 to 4, 2020, in Greifswald, Germany, organized at the Leibniz Institute for Plasma Science and Technology (INP) under the chairmanship of Prof. K.D. Weltmann. However, the workshop had to be canceled when the COVID 19 pandemic broke out in early 2020. Many of the studies presented in this S.I. were scheduled for presentation at the IWOPA 2020 workshop. We have decided to proceed with publication and are proud to present research of the workshop's speakers in this new S.I., “Plasma and Agriculture II”. The 3rd IWOPA, hosted by the INP Greifswald, will now take place virtually from March 1 to 3, 2021 (www.iwopa.org).

This current S.I. consists of one review article and 14 original research papers, focusing on state‐of‐the‐art LTP applications in agricultural and food‐related fields, ranging from the basics of activating air and water by electrical discharges and the treatment and decontamination of seeds and plants, to LTP use as a food processing technology. All papers have been fully peer‐reviewed to the high standards required for publication in PPaP.

The review by Ranieri et al.^[2] details the role of nonthermal plasma in the development of plants from seeds to crops, and it provides the context to design plasma‐based fertilization strategies to address the needs of plants and their ecosystem. Next, several research papers deal with plasma activation of air and water for agricultural purposes, first from general scientific points of view,^[3-5] but then also related to specific applications like toxin removal,^[6] decontamination of crop seeds,^[7] and viniculture.^[8]

A key subtopic, LTPs in the treatment of seeds and plants, is addressed in five articles, specifically as it applies to wheat,^[9] Norway spruce,^[10] red clover,^[11] rice,^[12] and maize and barley.^[13]

Finally, the last subtopic, LTPs in food technology, comprises three papers dealing with eggs,^[14] chicken,^[15] and milk.^[16] Regrettably, a single contribution to the subject of insect pest control^[17] could not be received in time for this S.I., but it will appear in a later issue of this journal in 2021.

Altogether, this collection of original research articles bears witness to world‐wide interest, as well as growing maturity and sophistication in this strategically important subject, “Plasma and agriculture”; these papers originate from laboratories in the USA, several Asian countries, and several countries throughout Europe. Clearly, the subject is one of steadily advancing impact for humankind and for the overall wellbeing of our environment.

Finally, we wish to thank all contributors to this special issue, the reviewers of these articles, and the editorial staff of PPaP for their outstanding support. We hope that this issue will contribute to further understanding of the field, to enhance the state of the art of plasma agricultural applications, and that it will help promote interdisciplinary collaborations between plasma scientists, plant biologists, agricultural experts, and food technologists. Such interactions are, of course, essential to clarify mechanisms that underlie these new processes and, in future, to implement and upscale the associated technologies.

低温等离子体（LTP）科学技术正在农业中迅速确立地位，在（i）可持续化肥生产，（ii）“从农场到餐桌”的食品安全和（iii）中已经存在或预期有未来的商业应用。减少污染和病原体。等离子体能够从电，水和空气中产生高度反应性的化学物质这一事实使LTP技术成为许多常规化学方法的极具吸引力的替代方法：LTP显然有可能破坏当前推动农业增长的化学工业。集中的方式。通过LTP技术按需点播本地化肥或在农场实现病原体灭活将减少对复杂物流的需求。

LTP技术在农业中的主题包括去污和减少污染；增加植物生长和产量；食品的安全生产，分配和消费；和植物生物学的基础知识。全世界的研究兴趣都达到了新的高度，其中包括越来越多的工业参与者。

这本名为《等离子体过程和聚合物》（PPaP）的期刊通过发布过去几年的大量研究报告，伴随着“等离子体和农业”的上述发展。专门针对该主题的第一期特刊（SI）于2018年在M.Gherardi教授（意大利博洛尼亚），N.Puač（塞尔维亚贝尔格莱德）和M.Shiratani教授（日本福冈）的客座编辑的陪同下出现。^{[ 1 ]}在此期间，应用等离子体研究的这一重要领域一直在发展和繁荣，以至于我们现在就同一主题介绍第二个SI。

在第三届国际研讨会等离子农业（IWOPA 2020年）被定于从3月1日至4日，2020年，在格赖夫斯瓦尔德，德国，在莱布尼茨研究所等离子体科学和技术（INP）KD Weltmann教授的主持下举办。但是，当2020年初COVID 19大流行爆发时，研讨会必须取消。该SI中介绍的许多研究原定在IWOPA 2020研讨会上进行。我们决定着手出版，并很荣幸在新的SI（“等离子与农业II”）中介绍研讨会讲者的研究。由INP格赖夫斯瓦尔德（INP Greifswald）主办的第三届IWOPA实际上将于2021年3月1日至3日举行（www.iwopa.org）。

当前的SI由一篇评论文章和14篇原创研究论文组成，重点关注农业和食品相关领域的最新LTP应用，包括通过放电激活空气和水以及处理和净化的基础知识种子和植物，将LTP用作食品加工技术。所有论文均经过完全同行评审，符合在PPaP中出版所需的高标准。

Ranieri等人的评论。^{[ 2 ]}详细介绍了非热等离子体在植物从种子到农作物生长中的作用，并为设计基于等离子体的施肥策略提供了背景，以满足植物及其生态系统的需求。接下来，有几篇研究论文涉及农业用空气和水的等离子体活化，首先是从一般科学的角度来看^{[ 3-5 ]}，然后又涉及到特定的应用，例如除毒，^{[ 6 ]}作物种子的去污，^{[ 7 ]}和葡萄栽培。^{[ 8 ]}

在五篇文章中讨论了关键的子主题LTP处理种子和植物，特别是它适用于小麦，^{[ 9 ]}挪威云杉，^{[ 10 ]}红三叶草，^{[ 11 ]}水稻，^{[ 12 ]}以及玉米和大麦。^{[ 13 ]}

最后，最后一个子主题，食品技术中的LTP，包括三篇涉及鸡蛋，^{[ 14 ]}鸡，^{[ 15 ]}和牛奶的论文。^{[ 16 ]}遗憾的是，未能及时收到此SI的对虫害控制主题的任何贡献^{[ 17 ]}，但它将出现在2021年的下一期期刊中。

总而言之，这一系列原始研究论文证明了全世界的兴趣，以及这一具有战略意义的重要课题“等离子与农业”的成熟度和成熟度；这些论文来自美国，亚洲几个国家和欧洲几个国家的实验室。显然，该主题是对人类和对我们环境的整体福祉稳步推进的影响之一。

最后，我们要感谢所有对此特刊的撰稿人，这些文章的审稿人以及PPaP的编辑人员的出色支持。我们希望这个问题将有助于对该领域的进一步了解，以增强等离子农业应用的技术水平，并有助于促进等离子科学家，植物生物学家，农业专家和食品技术专家之间的跨学科合作。当然，这种交互对于弄清这些新过程的基础机制以及将来实施和升级相关技术至关重要。