Professor of Horticulture specialising in vegetable growing and breeding, seedling production, plant stress physiology and biostimulant applications — with 340+ publications and an internationally recognised citation record.
Prof. Dr. Melek Ekinci is a Professor in the Department of Horticulture, Faculty of Agriculture, Atatürk University, Erzurum, Türkiye. She completed all of her academic training at Atatürk University — earning her BSc in Horticulture (2001), her MSc (2005) and her PhD (2011) in Vegetable Growing and Breeding — and was promoted to full Professor in 2021.
Her research advances vegetable production and plant resilience under environmental stress, spanning seedling and seed physiology, greenhouse production systems, mushroom cultivation, and the physiological, biochemical and molecular responses of vegetable crops to abiotic stresses such as salinity, heavy metals and waterlogging. She works extensively with biostimulants and signalling molecules — including humic and fulvic substances, calcium and boron humates, melatonin and phytohormones — to mitigate stress and improve crop quality and yield.
She has authored 340+ scientific works, attracting more than 2,900 Google Scholar citations (and over 1,970 Web of Science and 2,330 Scopus citations), has taken part in 41 research projects, and has supervised 13 graduate theses.
Atatürk University, Graduate School of Natural & Applied Sciences. Dissertation: Effects of bacteria, organic fertilizer and their mixtures added to compost on the yield and quality of Agaricus bisporus mushroom.
Atatürk University. Thesis: Effect of different mulch materials on plant growth, some quality traits and yield in melon and watermelon.
Atatürk University, Faculty of Agriculture.
Atatürk University · Faculty of Agriculture · Department of Horticulture
Earlier appointments at Atatürk University progressed from Research Assistant through Assistant and Associate Professor in the Department of Horticulture.
Her research contributes to the UN Sustainable Development Goals: 2 Zero Hunger, 3 Good Health & Well-being, 6 Clean Water & Sanitation, 8 Decent Work & Economic Growth, 9 Industry, Innovation & Infrastructure, 11 Sustainable Cities, 12 Responsible Consumption & Production, 13 Climate Action, and 15 Life on Land.
