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Agriculture
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Impact of Biostimulants on Crops
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Impact of Biostimulants on Crops

A special issue of Agriculture (ISSN 2077-0472). This special issue belongs to the section "Crop Production".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 September 2021) | Viewed by 28385

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Cinzia Margherita Bertea

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Plant Physiology Unit, Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Torino, via Quarello 15/A, I-10135 Torino, Italy
Interests: plant biostimulants; plant physiology; plant abiotic and biotic stress responses; secondary metabolism; plant DNA fingerprinting and barcoding

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In the last decades, increasing food production while paying attention to the environment became one of the most challenging goals for agriculture. In response to this problem, there has been a necessary and ongoing search for new solutions, such as the exploitation of products of natural origin instead of chemical fertilizers, and improving the final crop yield and quality while interfering as little as possible with the environment. In this new generation of products available on the market, plant biostimulants are environmentally friendly substances that, when applied in low amounts to plants or to the rhizosphere, are able to enhance natural processes having effects on properties such as nutrient uptake and efficiency, tolerance to abiotic stress, and crop quality. There are several categories of biostimulants, such as products based on microbial inoculants (bacteria and fungi), humic and fulvic acids, protein hydrolysates and amino acids, vitamins, and seaweed extracts. All these components can act on plant metabolism directly or indirectly, but their mode of action is still partially unknown.

This Special Issue of Agriculture aims to collect high-quality original research articles and reviews focused on plant biostimulants and discuss the latest findings and insights in this new research field in agriculture.

Prof. Dr. Cinzia Margherita Bertea
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Agriculture is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • non-microbial and microbial plant biostimulants
  • crop resilience
  • abiotic stresses
  • plant nutrition
  • sustainable agriculture
  • crop yield and quality
  • biostimulant chemical characterization
  • natural products

Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

Jump to: Review

12 pages, 2247 KiB  
Article
Transcriptomic Analysis of Late-Ripening Sweet Orange Fruits (Citrus sinensis) after Foliar Application of Glomalin-Related Soil Proteins
by Hui-Hui Wu, Anoop Kumar Srivastava, Yan Li, Ying-Ning Zou, Abeer Hashem, Elsayed Fathi Abd_Allah and Qiang-Sheng Wu
Agriculture 2021, 11(11), 1171; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture11111171 - 19 Nov 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1980
Abstract
Glomalin, one of the glycoproteins generated in the spores and hyphae of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi, has multiple functions in plants and soil, while the role of foliar spray of easily extractable glomalin-related soil proteins (EE-GRSP) in citrus fruits is not well defined. [...] Read more.
Glomalin, one of the glycoproteins generated in the spores and hyphae of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi, has multiple functions in plants and soil, while the role of foliar spray of easily extractable glomalin-related soil proteins (EE-GRSP) in citrus fruits is not well defined. Our study aimed to use referenced transcriptome sequencing to uncover the mechanism and the role of exogenous EE-GRSP in two late-ripening varieties of sweet orange (Citrus sinensis) fruits including Navel Lane Late (LW) and Rohde Red Valencia (XC). The 1804 and 1861 differentially expressed genes were identified in fruits of LW and XC, respectively, following foliar spray of EE-GRSP. Photosynthesis ranked second in the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) metabolism in the LW variety, and carbon fixation in photosynthetic organizations ranked first in KEGG metabolism in the XC variety. The response to foliar spray of EE-GRSP affected the fruit starch and sucrose metabolism of KEGG, with 15 (10 up-regulated and 5 down-regulated) and 13 (2 up-regulated and 11 down-regulated) differentially expressed genes identified in the LW and XC variety, respectively. Cs5g19060 (sucrose phosphate synthase 4) was activated and reduced by EE-GRSP on XC and LW, respectively. Cs1g18220 (β-fructofuranosidase) and Cs2g12180 (glycosyl hydrolase family 9) genes were up-regulated and down-regulated in LW and XC, respectively. These results established the involvement of molecular signaling in response to foliar spray of EE-GRSP activating fruit sugar metabolism is dependent on citrus varieties. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Impact of Biostimulants on Crops)
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14 pages, 2574 KiB  
Article
Phthalanilic Acid with Biostimulatory Functions Affects Photosynthetic and Antioxidant Capacity and Improves Fruit Quality and Yield in Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.)
by Ting Ma, Qiong Wu, Na Liu, Rong Zhang and Zhiqing Ma
Agriculture 2021, 11(11), 1082; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture11111082 - 01 Nov 2021
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1582
Abstract
The widespread application of biostimulants with a growing trend represents sustainable practices aimed at improving growth and yield and alleviating stresses in green agricultural system. Phthalanilic acid (PPA), with biostimulatory functions, has been increasingly applied to fruit and vegetable production. However, its specific [...] Read more.
The widespread application of biostimulants with a growing trend represents sustainable practices aimed at improving growth and yield and alleviating stresses in green agricultural system. Phthalanilic acid (PPA), with biostimulatory functions, has been increasingly applied to fruit and vegetable production. However, its specific biostimulatory effects on growth and development of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) plants is still unclear. In this study, the regulatory function of foliar spraying PPA at the flowering timing in morphometric (length, width, single pod weight and yield), physiological (relative electrical conductivity), and biochemical (antioxidant enzymes activity, photosynthetic pigment, malondialdehyde, vitamin C, soluble protein, and soluble sugar content) parameters of cowpea plants were investigated. In general, PPA treatments exhibited higher antioxidant enzymes activities (with an increase of 11.89–51.62% in POD), lower relative conductivity (with a decrease of 22.66–62.18%), increased photosynthetic pigment levels and amounts of free proline (with an increase of 24.62–90.52%), and decreased malondialdehyde. Furthermore, the length, width and weight of single pod, podding rate (with an increase of 19.64%), vitamin C, soluble protein (with an increase of 18.75%), and soluble sugar content were increased by 200 mg·L−1 PPA. These data, together with an increased yield of 15.89%, suggest that PPA positively regulates the growth and development, improving fruit quality and yield, especially at 200 mg·L−1. This study indicates that PPA has biostimulatory effects in cowpea production and shows application prospect in field cultivation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Impact of Biostimulants on Crops)
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16 pages, 2419 KiB  
Article
A Biostimulant Based on Seaweed (Ascophyllum nodosum and Laminaria digitata) and Yeast Extracts Mitigates Water Stress Effects on Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.)
by Cristina Campobenedetto, Chiara Agliassa, Giuseppe Mannino, Ivano Vigliante, Valeria Contartese, Francesca Secchi and Cinzia M. Bertea
Agriculture 2021, 11(6), 557; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture11060557 - 17 Jun 2021
Cited by 45 | Viewed by 5370
Abstract
Water deficit is one of the most problematic stressors worldwide. In this context, the use of biostimulants represents an increasingly ecological practice aimed to improve crop tolerance and mitigate the negative effects on the productivity. Here, the effect derived from the foliar application [...] Read more.
Water deficit is one of the most problematic stressors worldwide. In this context, the use of biostimulants represents an increasingly ecological practice aimed to improve crop tolerance and mitigate the negative effects on the productivity. Here, the effect derived from the foliar application of ERANTHIS®®, a biostimulant based on seaweed (Ascophyllum nodosum and Laminaria digitata) and yeast extracts, was tested on tomato plants grown under mild water-stress conditions. The potential stress mitigation action was evaluated by monitoring morphometric (fresh weight and dry matter content), physiological (stem water potential) and biochemical (ROS scavenger enzymes activity, proline, abscisic acid, hydrogen peroxide and photosynthetic pigment content) parameters closely related to the occurrence and response to stress at both flowering and fruit-set timing. In general, we observed that plants grown under drought conditions and treated with the biostimulant had a lower amount of ABA, and MDA and proline correlated to a lower activity of ROS scavenger enzymes compared to untreated plants. These data, together with the higher stem water potential and photosynthetic pigment levels recorded for the treated plants, suggest that ERANTHIS®® may mitigate water stress effects on tomato. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Impact of Biostimulants on Crops)
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18 pages, 5071 KiB  
Article
Effect of Phenological Stage and Rooting Enhancers on Physiological Parameters in Stem Cuttings in the Process of Rhizogenesis of Rosa × alba ‘Maiden’s Blush’
by Marta Joanna Monder, Maciej Niedzielski and Konrad Woliński
Agriculture 2020, 10(11), 572; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture10110572 - 23 Nov 2020
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2398
Abstract
Once-blooming roses belong to difficult-to-root. One-bud leafy cuttings have limited storage capacity, due to the small size of the stem, and are exposed to prolonged stress conditions. The objective of this study was to examine if the treatment of the cuttings of Rosa [...] Read more.
Once-blooming roses belong to difficult-to-root. One-bud leafy cuttings have limited storage capacity, due to the small size of the stem, and are exposed to prolonged stress conditions. The objective of this study was to examine if the treatment of the cuttings of Rosa × alba ‘Maiden’s Blush’ with plant origin preparations as rooting enhancers may increase their rooting percentage, chlorophyll a/b, and proteins concentration in leaves. The cuttings were prepared from shoots in four phenological stages: flower buds closed, flowers open, immediately after petal shedding, and 7–14 days after petal fall. The following were used: 0.4% indole butyric acid (Ukorzeniacz Aaqua), 0.2% naphthalene acetic acid (Ukorzeniacz Baqua), Bio Rhizotonic; Root Juice™, and Bio Roots. Controls included untreated cuttings. The highest rooting percentage was obtained after two treatments with 0.6% Bio Rhizotonic (81.5%), compared to the control (55.0%), using cuttings from shoots with flower buds closed, but the rooting enhancers did not show any unequivocal impact on rooting percentage in cuttings of all phenological stages or affected improvement this feature in cuttings harvested 7–14 after shedding petals with low root ability. However, the action of plant preparations affected positively higher soluble proteins and chlorophyll content. The plant-origin preparations can be used as alternatives to chemicals in nursery production. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Impact of Biostimulants on Crops)
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10 pages, 807 KiB  
Article
Foliar Aspersion of Salicylic Acid Improves Nutraceutical Quality and Fruit Yield in Tomato
by Oscar Sariñana-Aldaco, Esteban Sánchez-Chávez, Enrique Troyo-Diéguez, Luis Mario Tapia-Vargas, Juan Carlos Díaz-Pérez and Pablo Preciado-Rangel
Agriculture 2020, 10(10), 482; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture10100482 - 19 Oct 2020
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 4535
Abstract
The use of elicitors or biostimulants such as salicylic acid (SA) is an emerging novel practice to improve the yield and quality of crops since it plays an important role in the regulation of various physiological and metabolic processes. The objective of this [...] Read more.
The use of elicitors or biostimulants such as salicylic acid (SA) is an emerging novel practice to improve the yield and quality of crops since it plays an important role in the regulation of various physiological and metabolic processes. The objective of this research was to study the effect of the foliar application of SA on the nutraceutical quality and yield of tomato fruits. A completely randomized experimental design with 10 repetitions was used. SA was applied at five doses (0.025 mM, 0.05 mM, 0.075 mM, 0.1 mM, and 0.125 mM) every 15 days through foliar sprays after transplantation, accumulating seven applications through the cycle. The response variables were yield (total fruit weight per plant), fruit parameters (weight, diameter, firmness, and total soluble solids), percentage of weight loss, and nutraceutical quality. The obtained results suggest that the foliar spraying of SA improves the yield and biosynthesis of phytochemical compounds in tomato fruits, compared to control plants. According to the results, it is advisable to use the dose of 0.125 mM of SA since it has a higher content of bioactive compounds without compromising yield. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Impact of Biostimulants on Crops)
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12 pages, 1821 KiB  
Article
A Meta-Analytical Approach on Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi Inoculation Efficiency on Plant Growth and Nutrient Uptake
by Murugesan Chandrasekaran
Agriculture 2020, 10(9), 370; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture10090370 - 20 Aug 2020
Cited by 20 | Viewed by 4282
Abstract
Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are obligate symbionts of higher plants which increase the growth and nutrient uptake of host plants. The primary objective was initiated based on analyzing the enormity of optimal effects upon AMF inoculation in a comparative bias between mycorrhizal and [...] Read more.
Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are obligate symbionts of higher plants which increase the growth and nutrient uptake of host plants. The primary objective was initiated based on analyzing the enormity of optimal effects upon AMF inoculation in a comparative bias between mycorrhizal and non-mycorrhizal plants stipulated on plant biomass and nutrient uptake. Consequently, in accomplishing the above-mentioned objective a vast literature was collected, analyzed, and evaluated to establish a weighted meta-analysis irrespective of AMF species, plant species, family and functional group, and experimental conditions in the context of beneficial effects of AMF. I found a significant increase in the shoot, root, and total biomass by 36.3%, 28.5%, and, 29.7%, respectively. Moreover, mycorrhizal plants significantly increased phosphorus, nitrogen, and potassium uptake by 36.3%, 22.1%, and 18.5%, respectively. Affirmatively upon cross-verification studies, plant growth parameters intensification was accredited to AMF (Rhizophagus fasciculatus followed by Funniliforme mosseae), plants (Triticum aestivum followed by Solanum lycopersicum), and plant functional groups (dicot, herbs, and perennial) were the additional vital important significant predictor variables of plant growth responses. Therefore, the meta-analysis concluded that the emancipated prominent root characteristics, increased morphological traits that eventually help the host plants for efficient phosphorus uptake, thereby enhancing plant biomass. The present analysis can be rationalized for any plant stress and assessment of any microbial agent that contributes to plant growth promotion. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Impact of Biostimulants on Crops)
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Review

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24 pages, 4501 KiB  
Review
Anthocyanins: Biosynthesis, Distribution, Ecological Role, and Use of Biostimulants to Increase Their Content in Plant Foods—A Review
by Giuseppe Mannino, Carla Gentile, Andrea Ertani, Graziella Serio and Cinzia Margherita Bertea
Agriculture 2021, 11(3), 212; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture11030212 - 05 Mar 2021
Cited by 49 | Viewed by 6941
Abstract
In the past century, plant biostimulants have been increasingly used in agriculture as innovative and sustainable practice. Plant biostimulants have been mainly investigated as potential agents able to mitigate abiotic stress. However, few information is available about their ability to influence fruit quality [...] Read more.
In the past century, plant biostimulants have been increasingly used in agriculture as innovative and sustainable practice. Plant biostimulants have been mainly investigated as potential agents able to mitigate abiotic stress. However, few information is available about their ability to influence fruit quality or change fruit phytochemical composition. In particular, very little is known about their effects on anthocyanin synthesis and accumulation. Due to the increasing demand of consumers for healthier foods with high nutraceutical values, this review tries to fill the gap between anthocyanin content and biostimulant application. Here, we elucidate the chemical structure, biosynthetic pathway, plant distribution, and physiological role of anthocyanins in plants. Moreover, we discuss the potential implications for human health derived from the consumption of foods rich in these molecules. Finally, we report on literature data concerning the changes in anthocyanin content and profile after the application of biostimulant products on the most common anthocyanin-containing foods. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Impact of Biostimulants on Crops)
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