Display omitted
•Microalgal extracts as biostimulants were evaluated for tomato plants.•20-100 % of algal extracts showed positive effects on tomato growth.•Seed treatment with 40-80% algal extracts ...showed 100% germination in 3 days•Foliar spray of 60% algal extracts showed better yield.•Increased plant growth rate was also correlated with higher chlorophyll content•Lower concentration of algal extracts showed better stimulatory effects.
A probable strategy for increasing the economic sustainability of algal technology would involve the utilization of microalgal biomass as biofertilizer by off-setting the high production costs. The present study focusses on the utilization of mixed algal consortia as biofertilizer for analysing the growth rate of tomato plant. Algal extracts (20-100%) in the form of seed primer and foliar spray were used as biostimulants for the growth of tomato plant. Characterization of algal consortium showed the presence of 40.90% carbohydrates and 26.18% proteins that could potentially act as precursors for bioactive compounds to stimulate plant growth. Faster germination percentage was found with extract concentrations ranging from 20-60% in 3 days compared to the untreated seeds. Seeds treated with cellular extracts of 40% concentration also showed faster plant growth rate after sowing in terms of increase in shoot length 19.86 ± 0.51 cm and root length of 14.87 ± 0.63 cm with a fresh and dry weight of 3.47 ± 0.04 g and 0.389 ± 0.036 g respectively after 20 days. Foliar spraying of 60% algal extracts resulted in total plant height of 7.98 ± 0.19 cm with root length of 5.8 ± 0.16 cm, 46% higher compared to the control. 11 ± 0.35 leaves with chlorophyll content of 13.45 ± 0.307 mg g-1 were also obtained after 20 days, with fresh and dry biomass content of 0.416 ± 0.015 g and 0.062 ± 0.005 g respectively. Thus, microalgal cellular extracts could act as an environmental-friendly and economical alternative to synthetic liquid fertilizer for promoting sustainable agriculture.
Full text
Available for:
GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Seaweed-based biostimulants have the potential to stimulate the growth and development of young plants and increase plant resistance to stress induced by abiotic factors, such as drought or high ...temperatures, due to their rich content in macro and microelements, in phytohormones and in plant essential aminoacids. In the present experience, we aimed to study the influence of some foliar treatments with seaweed biostimulators on fruit weight, number of fruits per plant and eggplant yield. For the treatments, three seaweed-based biostimulators were used, Agrocean B, Auxi 4C and Kelpak, each product containing a different species of seaweed (Laminaria digitata (Huds.) Lamour., Ascophyllum nodosum (L.) Le Jolis. and Ecklonia maxima (Osbeck) Papenfuss). The treatments with the product Agrocean B (Laminaria digitata (Huds.) Lamour.) determined a 46.60% increase in production, compared to the untreated variant. Significant increases were also caused by treatments with the product Kelpak (Ecklonia maxima (Osbeck) Papenfuss), which led to a 32.37% higher yield.
Display omitted
•Black soldier fly (BSF) larvae frass is discussed as a fertilizer.•Frass is a biologically unstable organic fertilizer.•Frass has multiple plant nutrients and beneficial ...microorganisms.•Frass might be a source of bioactive compounds.
Inadequately treated biodegradable waste is considered an environmental, social and economic threat worldwide, which call for great attention. Waste treatment with larvae of the black soldier fly (BSF, Hermetia illucens) complies with the concepts of circular economy, as it enables the transformation of these wastes into marketable products, closing loops and promoting circularity. The processing residues of the treatment (frass) is constantly generated in waste management facilities in large volumes, and this product can be used as an organic fertilizer in agriculture, stimulating a transition to a circular economy. However, many aspects related to frass are still unknown, such as its varying composition of nutrients, microorganisms and bioactive compounds, its post-processing requirements for improved biological stabilization, its behavior in the soil and action in the plants’ metabolism, among other aspects. In this review article, we highlight the potential of frass from BSF larvae treatment of biodegradable waste in the world market regarding its possible use as a fertilizer, summarize recent results with this novel product and point towards future research perspectives.
Full text
Available for:
GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
•Growth and productivity of tomato plants are significantly affected by drought stress.•Megafol® biostimulant is largely used to attenuate the negative physiological responses of drought.•Scanalyzer ...3D, a plant phenomics platform, was used to investigate physiological parameters in tomato plants under drought conditions.•Drought-stressed plants treated with Megafol® were healthier and more tolerant to stress, with an induction of genes involved in drought stress responses.•Megafol® reduces drought-stress related damage in tomato plants.
Drought is one of the most significant abiotic stresses that limits the growth and productivity of crop plants. We investigated the physiological and molecular responses of tomato plants treated with Megafol® (Valagro S.p.A), under specific drought conditions. The goal was to evaluate the impact of Megafol®, a biostimulant composed of a complex of vitamins, aminoacids, proteins and betaines, in attenuating the negative physiological responses of drought. Tomato plants were grown in a greenhouse, and physiological parameters were collected using Scanalyzer 3D (LemnaTec, GmbH), a plant phenomics platform. Using this technology it is possible to dynamically study the effects of biostimulants, such as Megafol®, on plant development in terms of early detection of physiological plant stress responses. The results showed that drought-stressed plants treated with Megafol® were healthier in terms of the biomass produced and chlorophyll fluorescence, thus highlighting the higher tolerance to stress of the treated plants. The effects of Megafol® were also studied at a molecular level by analysing the induction of genes typically involved in drought stress responses. Our results demonstrate the efficacy of Megafol® to reduce drought-stress related damage in tomato plants.
Full text
Available for:
GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK
The over-use of synthetic chemical fertilizer has an adverse effect on humans. To overcome this issue, there is a need for organic farming. The present study is intended for identifying the ...possibilities of microalgal (Chlorella vulgaris) application on tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) cultivation as a suitable biofertilizer as well as biostimulant. The application of Chlorella vulgaris by foliar spray method, soil drench method with and without cowdung and control (untreated). Soil is suitable for tomato cultivation according to the soil analysis. Laboratory cultured Chlorella vulgaris enriched with carbohydrate (40.75±0.55), protein (29.56±0.72), lipids (30.20±0.25), total chlorophyll (0.531±0.42), carotenoids (0.261±0.35) and also other elements such as carbon (26.03±0.21), nitrogen (4.18±0.48), sodium (5.63±0.54) and potassium (6.94±0.17). Mixed treatment of cowdung with C. vulgaris shows enhanced growth than other groups. The higher concentration (100%) of foliar spray, C. vulgaris by soil drench and C. vulgaris + cowdung, elicits fruit length of about 8.8 ± 0.36, 10.5 ± 0.61 and 11.7 ± 0.35 cm, fruit diameter of about 13.3 ± 0.73, 14.2 ± 0.24 and 16.7 ± 0.31 cm, number of seeds/fruit of about 89±0.45, 118±0.98 and 153±0.96 g and seed weight/fruit of about 4.5 ± 0.14, 5.2 ± 0.19 and 6.5 ± 0.28 g respectively. The quality of the tomato was attributed to the increased total soluble solid of about 5.78±0.39, 6.27±0.92 and 7.09±0.75 g/100 g, total soluble sugar of about 4.30±0.76, 5.37±0.57 and 7.40±0.90 g/100 g, l-Ascorbic acid of about 14.6 ± 0.86, 17.9 ± 0.93 and 19.23±0.69 g/100 g, total protein of about 4.88±0.36, 5.82±0.88 and 6.37±0.23 g/100 g and moisture of about 94.1 ± 0.81, 95.5 ± 055 and 96.5 ± 0.42 g/100 g in foliar spray, C. vulgaris by soil drench and C. vulgaris + cowdung methods of applications respectively. There is a significant increase in mineral content such as phosphorus, potassium, calcium and magnesium in treated fruits as compared to control. Similarly shelf life (days) of foliar spray (5.0 ± 0.19), soil drench (6.0 ± 0.55), mixed treatment (7.0 ± 0.16) was increased than control
(4 ± 0.65). Among three treatments, C. vulgaris + cowdung showed better results than other treatment. Soil drench method of application shows better outcomes than foliar spray application. Microalgae Chlorella vulgaris can be applied as biofertilizer/biostimulants in tomato cultivation by replacing conventional chemical fertilizer.
Display omitted
•Chlorella vulgaris treatment shows enhanced tomato plant growth and yield.•Foliar spray method of application shows better results than soil drench.•Nutritional content of fruit was more in C. vulgaris treatment than control.•Soil fertility was enriched after C. vulgaris treatment.•C. vulgaris act as a biofertilizer/biostimulant in tomato cultivation.
Full text
Available for:
GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
•Biostimulants could promote the accumulation of plant biomass under either low or high temperature stress.•Effects of biostimulants are plant organ specific.•Different biostimulants have distinct ...impacts to temperature stress responses.
Abiotic stresses result in tremendous loss of plant yield during global climate change. Biostimulants, as an environmental-friendly innovation in agricultural practice, can improve plant growth and development, and minimize adverse effects caused by abiotic stresses. In this study, three biostimulants, Boosten, Megafol and Isabion (1:500 dilution) were applied to leaf surfaces of tomato seedlings at four-leaf stage and their effects on seedlings growth after 7 and 15 days of treatment were cross-checked at 10 °C, 25 °C and 35 °C. We observed that the foliar application of biostimulants could promote the accumulation of plant biomass to various degrees under either low or high temperature stress compared to the water control. Specifically, Boosten and Megafol treatments boosted the synthesis of chlorophylls and photosynthetic rates, thereby enhanced the vitality of plants. Under high temperature, biostimulants especially Boosten and Megafol significantly promoted the growth of both aboveground and underground tissues leading to the increased tomato sound seedling index, whereas Isabion mainly improved the growth of aboveground tissues. Clustering analysis and principal component analysis further confirmed that under temperature stress, various biostimulants had different promotion effects on tomato seedlings. This may be explained by the plant species specificity in respond to biostimulants with different chemical compositions and more importantly, by the different responding mechanisms of biostimulants to cold or heat stress. Overall, Boosten was more effective under temperature stress.
Full text
Available for:
GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
•Foliar application of PGE mitigated the adverse effects of drought stress on basil plants.•Growth and oil content, enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants were improved by PGE application to ...basil.•PGE application maintained RWC and increased WUE in basil plants under deficit irrigation.•Foliar application of PGE improved the anatomical features in basil plants under drought stress.
Drought is a major abiotic stress that limits performance of sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum L.), which is an important aromatic plant for flavor foods and traditional medicines. The influence of palm pollen grains extract (PGE) on growth, physio-biochemical attributes, water use efficiency (WUE), anatomical characteristics and antioxidant defense system components in basil plants was investigated under normal and water deficit stress conditions. The PGE was exogenously applied as a foliar spray at a rate of 1.0 g L‒1 to plants under full (70% of soil water-holding capacity; SWHC) or deficit irrigation (DI; 50% of SWHC) in a pot experiment repeated three times. Exposing basil plants to drought stress significantly disorganized their performance including oil yield and anatomical features, but increased their antioxidant defense system components. However, the application of PGE to DI-stressed plants significantly improved growth characteristics and the contents of essential oil, leaf photosynthetic pigments, soluble sugars, free proline, and ascorbic acid. Antioxidant enzyme activities, relative water content (RWC), WUE, and anatomical characteristics were also improved, while electrolyte leakage was significantly diminished compared to the corresponding control. Therefore, results obtained in this study recommend using PGE at 1.0 g L‒1 as a foliar application strategy for Ocimum basilicum plants grown under DI stress to maintain higher RWC and WUE, and lower EL, and improve plant growth and essential oil productivity by limiting the inhibitory effects of DI.
Full text
Available for:
GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
The purpose of this experiment was to compare the growth and quality of cucumber fruits, in response to different concentrations (C0, C0.75, and C1.5 g L-1) and different application methods (M1: ...foliar sprays, M2: fertigation, M3: combined foliar sprays and fertigation) of seaweed extract (SwE). The simultaneous use of the method and different concentration of SwE increased the fresh weight of the leaf, fruit weight, yield, number of leaves, evaporation, fruit length, fruit diameter and firmness, stomatal conductance, and nitrate concentration of fruit. On the other hand, the highest amount of fruit firmness (69.25 and 69.27 N) was observed in M2C0.75 and M2C1.5 compared to other treatments, respectively. The M1C0.75 treatment increased the fruit diameter by 26.52% more than the M1C0 treatment. Fruit weight, fruit length, and yield were in the following order in different treatments, M1C1.5˃ M1C0.75 ˃ M3C1.5. So that only in the M1C1.5 treatment, fruit weight, yield, and fruit length were 25, 52.55, and 25.86% higher than the M1C0 treatment, respectively. Generally, the M1 and M3 in concentrations of 0.75 and 1.5 created better plant growth, fruit shape, and quality characteristics compared to the second method (M2) and the C0 treatment. Therefore, the concentration of 1.5 g L-1 and the use of foliar spraying methods, and the combination of foliar spraying and fertigation can be recommended to achieve the maximum yield and quality of cucumber fruits.
PDF
