Submit to Agriculture Review for Agriculture Propose a Special Issue

Journal Menu

Journal Browser

► Journal Browser

Special Issue "Rational Use of Biostimulants, Particle Film Technologies and Other Innovative Formulates in Agriculture"

Print Special Issue Flyer
Special Issue Editors
Special Issue Information
Keywords
Published Papers

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (25 July 2023) | Viewed by 6701

Share This Special Issue

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Tommaso Frioni

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Department of Sustainable Crop Production, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Via Emilia Parmense 84, 29122 Piacenza, Italy
Interests: viticulture; abiotic stress; grapevine eco-physiology; biostimulants; particle-film-technologies

Dr. Lia-Tania Dinis

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Department of Agronomy, University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro, 5000-801 Vila Real, Portugal
Interests: grapevine eco-physiology; (a)biotic stress tolerance; biostimulants; particle film technologies; viticulture
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Gastón Gutiérrez-Gamboa

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Escuela de Agronomía, Facultad de Ciencias, Ingeniería y Tecnología, Universidad Mayor, Temuco 4780000, Chile
Interests: berry quality; edaphoclimatic conditions; terroir; viticultural practices
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In the last 10 years, research and industrial initiatives have developed many so-called biosolutions to address crop exigencies, in respect of environmental sustainability. Today, climate change is posing serious new challenges to primary production, and the short-term unpredictability of environmental and socio-economic conditions requires farms and growers to have high flexibility and adaptation capabilities. For instance, energetic, climatic, and political crises in 2022 are demonstrating that while only effective and economically convenient inputs can be integrated in field and orchards management, productivity cannot be exchanged for environmental benefits and vice versa.

In this framework, the present Special Issue aims to collect some cutting-edge papers targeting the most relevant aspects about the use of biostimulants/biofertilizers and other biosolutions in agriculture. In detail, the articles collection intends to cover:

Efficacy of biostimulants and particle film technologies in improving crops tolerance to abiotic stress;
Improvement of plant eco-physiological performances under foliar/soil biosolutions applications;
Use of biostimulants to improve yield and crop quality traits;
Efficacy and convenience of biosolutions as compared to traditional or alternative techniques;
Reduction of inputs in farming systems and improvement of environment quality by introducing natural-based products;
Plant–plant and plant–pathogens interaction according to biosolutions application;
Integration of biostimulants within the field management strategy.

Dr. Tommaso Frioni
Dr. Lia-Tania Dinis
Dr. Gastón Gutiérrez-Gamboa
Guest Editors

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

biostimulants
mychorriza
antitranspirants
particle film technologies
biofertilizers
yield preservation
fruit quality
plant growth promoting rhizobacteria
seaweed extracts
protein hydrolysates
biocontrol

Published Papers (4 papers)

Download All Papers

Order results

Result details

Show export options Show export options

Select all

Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

16 pages, 1901 KiB

Open AccessArticle

High-Temperature Influences Plant Bio-Stimulant-like Effects of the Combination Particle Film-Forming Materials-Foliar Fertilizers on Apple Trees

Carmen Eugenia Sîrbu

Mălina Deșliu-Avram

Traian Mihai Cioroianu

Diana Constantinescu-Aruxandei

and

Florin Oancea

Agriculture 2023, 13(1), 178; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture13010178 - 10 Jan 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1385

Abstract

Particle film forming materials were introduced as a solution to reduce the effects of excessive solar irradiation on plant photosynthesis. Covering plant leaves with particle films leads to plant bio-stimulant-like effects: increased protection against abiotic stress and increased fruit quality. We used zeolites and diatomaceous earth carriers for foliar fertilizer, known for their application as particle film-forming material. The aim of this paper was to investigate the plant bio-stimulant-like effects of this combined two-in-one product on the yield of apple trees and their photosynthetic pigments and fruit quality. The experiments were conducted for two years, 2021 and 2022, which had different agroclimatic patterns: 2021 had a deficit of precipitation, whereas 2022 was warmer by more than +4.8 °C compared to the recorded average temperature. Applying particle film-forming material and foliar fertilizer reduces the degradation of the photosynthetic pigments by drought and excessive solar radiation by 25–30%. In the year with a deficit of precipitation there was an increased yield by an additional 11.56–12.38% and the fruit quality similarly increased. Such effects of these combined two-in-one products were limited in 2022 as the temperature was higher than normal by several degrees. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Rational Use of Biostimulants, Particle Film Technologies and Other Innovative Formulates in Agriculture)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

13 pages, 475 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effect of Protein Gel Treatments on Biometric and Biochemical Attributes of Tomato Seedlings in Greenhouse Condition

and

Agriculture 2023, 13(1), 54; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture13010054 - 24 Dec 2022

Viewed by 1102

Abstract

Protein hydrolysates are widely used in agricultural crops for improving plant nutrient uptake, growth, yield, and fruit quality. Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) is one of the most important vegetables consumed around the world both for its good taste and rich content in vitamins, minerals, lycopene, and β-carotene. The objective of the present study was to assess the effect of new stimulant products based on protein hydrolysates obtained from animal tissue by-products on tomato seedlings. Given the increased intake of amino acids, it is expected that this treatment will exert beneficial effects on the development of certain vigorous seedlings, representing the premise for obtaining superior tomato plants and the improvement of the production and quality of tomato fruit. Two variants of protein gels based on gelatin and keratin hydrolysates were obtained by processing bovine hide and wool and were used for periodical root applications on tomato seedlings cultivated in a greenhouse. During the experiment, the biometric characteristics of seedlings were measured weekly. The content of photosynthetic pigments, dry weight, sugars, and polyphenols were analyzed, and the antioxidant activity was assessed in the leaves. The research performed showed that applied biostimulant treatments increased the content of photosynthetic pigments by 10%, the content of sugars by 75%, and the content of polyphenols by 16% compared to the control untreated variant. Between the variants of protein gels tested, the best results were obtained by applying a mixture of bovine gelatin and keratin. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Rational Use of Biostimulants, Particle Film Technologies and Other Innovative Formulates in Agriculture)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

10 pages, 960 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris L.) Aqueous Extract: Hormesis and Biostimulant Activity for Seed Germination and Seedling Growth in Vegetable Crops

and

Agriculture 2022, 12(9), 1329; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture12091329 - 28 Aug 2022

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2133

Abstract

The evaluation of potential biostimulants to be used in sustainable horticulture production is a crucial goal of research. Most research has focused on the effects of biostimulants on plant growth, and less on the effects on seed germination and seedling growth. This study evaluated the biostimulatory effects of mugwort extract on seed germination and seedling growth in several vegetable crops (onion, carrot, tomato, rapeseed, cauliflower and lettuce), in order to test its application as a potential biostimulant. The phenolic acid composition of the extract and the acids’ rankings were: homovanillic > gentisic > gallic > caffeic = chlorogenic > salicylic = syringic > p/m-coumaric = ferulic = synaptic = p-hydroxybenzoic. The extract of mugwort (at 0.2, 0.4, 0.8, 1.56, 3.13, 6.25 and 12.5 % w/v concentrations) was analyzed using Petri dish bioassays, quantifying its stimulatory effects on seed germination and the radicle and hypocotyl length of the seedlings, according to hormetic log-logistic models. The mugwort extract was not able to biostimulate all the tested species. Seed germination was stimulated in carrot (+70%) and rapeseed (+11%), while in the other species, no effects (i.e., onion, tomato and lettuce) or inhibition (i.e., cauliflower) were observed. Hypocotyl length stimulation was observed in all the species except carrot and onion, while radicle length was mainly inhibited by mugwort extract, except in rapeseed (+30%). The biostimulation effects of mugwort extract seem to be “specie specific” and “part of plant specific”, and need to be further investigated in terms of the involved substances and physiological aspects, although phytohormone activity is certainly involved. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Rational Use of Biostimulants, Particle Film Technologies and Other Innovative Formulates in Agriculture)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

13 pages, 2035 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Silicon and Nitric Oxide Applications Allow Mitigation of Water Stress in Myrobalan 29C Rootstocks (Prunus cerasifera Ehrh.)

Ibrahim Bolat

Asuman Gundogdu Bakır

Kubra Korkmaz

Gastón Gutiérrez-Gamboa

and

Ozkan Kaya

Agriculture 2022, 12(8), 1273; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture12081273 - 20 Aug 2022

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1472

Abstract

(1) Background: Silicon (Si) and nitric oxide (NO) have been proven to protect against cellular injury caused by stress conditions, mostly by salinity and water stress in agriculture. (2) Methods: The goal was to study the effect of soil applications of NO, Si, and their combination (Si+NO) on the response of Myrobalan 29C rootstocks (Prunus cerasifera Ehrh.) subjected to water stress and well-watered conditions. (3) Results: The results showed that water stress decreased growth parameters (i.e., leaf area, shoot dry weight, root fresh weight, shoot fresh weight, root dry weight, and relative shoot diameter), physio-biochemical parameters (i.e., chlorophyll and relative water content in leaves), and leaf and root minerals (i.e., P, Ca, Fe, and Zn in leaves and N, K, Ca, and Zn in roots), compared to well-watered plants. Under these conditions, all treatments mitigated the detrimental effects of water stress on Myrobalan 29C rootstocks, being the most effective the Si+NO treatment. (4) Conclusions: These findings briefly highlight that the combination of silicon and nitric oxide may provide greater tolerance to water stress in Myrobalan 29C rootstocks. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Rational Use of Biostimulants, Particle Film Technologies and Other Innovative Formulates in Agriculture)

► Show Figures

Journal Menu

Journal Browser

Special Issue "Rational Use of Biostimulants, Particle Film Technologies and Other Innovative Formulates in Agriculture"

Share This Special Issue

Special Issue Editors

Special Issue Information

Keywords

Published Papers (4 papers)

Research

Further Information

Guidelines

MDPI Initiatives

Follow MDPI