Plant stimulants and horticultural production

Plant stimulants is an organic substance and micro-organisms, used by small quantities, Biostimulants categorize according to their nature, modes of action, and types of effects on crops, there are main groups of plant stimulants include Protein hydrolysates, Humate substances, Seaweed extracts, Biopolymers (Chitosan and other polymers), and Microbial biostimulants like mycorrhizal, non-mycorrhizal fungi, Rhizobium, and Trichoderma. Horticulture crop production facing several challenges particularly abiotic stresses and malnutrition resulting in yield loss and affects negatively fruit quality. The main effects of plant stimulants due to its working as the auxin-like effect, enhancing Nitrogen uptake, and stimulate plant growth. There is various stimulation effects on horticulture crops including promote plant growth, increase plant tolerance for biotic and abiotic stresses. Applying plant stimulants to plants or the rhizosphere stimulating plant metabolic processes, increase the efficiency of the nutrients, and increase plant tolerance to abiotic stress, consequently, improving plant growth increases yield, and enhancing fruit quality.

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Interactive Role of Silicon and Plant–Rhizobacteria Mitigating Abiotic Stresses: A New Approach for Sustainable Agriculture and Climate Change

Plants ◽

10.3390/plants9091055 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 9 (9) ◽

pp. 1055

Author(s):

Krishan K. Verma ◽

Xiu-Peng Song ◽

Dong-Mei Li ◽

Munna Singh ◽

Vishnu D. Rajput ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Plant Growth ◽

Abiotic Stresses ◽

Crop Production ◽

Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria ◽

Crop Productivity ◽

Agricultural Crop ◽

Plant Growth Promoting ◽

Microbe Interactions ◽

Stimulate Plant Growth ◽

Excess Quantity

Abiotic stresses are the major constraints in agricultural crop production across the globe. The use of some plant–microbe interactions are established as an environment friendly way of enhancing crop productivity, and improving plant development and tolerance to abiotic stresses by direct or indirect mechanisms. Silicon (Si) can also stimulate plant growth and mitigate environmental stresses, and it is not detrimental to plants and is devoid of environmental contamination even if applied in excess quantity. In the present review, we elaborate the interactive application of Si and plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPRs) as an ecologically sound practice to increase the plant growth rate in unfavorable situations, in the presence of abiotic stresses. Experiments investigating the combined use of Si and PGPRs on plants to cope with abiotic stresses can be helpful in the future for agricultural sustainability.

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Conjugation of Biofertilizers with Different Sources of Chemical Fertilizers in Wheat: A Review

Agricultural Reviews ◽

10.18805/ag.r-2001 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Pankaj Kumar ◽

Sukhdeep Kaur Brar

Keyword(s):

Plant Growth ◽

Mycorrhizal Fungi ◽

Crop Production ◽

Agricultural Sector ◽

Management Strategies ◽

Cost Effective ◽

Growth Promoter ◽

Plant Tolerance ◽

Chemical Fertilizers ◽

Different Sources

Plants nutrients are necessary in increasing production and productivity of crops and healthy food for the world’s ever increasing population. Today, soil management strategies are mainly dependent on inorganic chemical-based fertilizers, which cause a serious threat to human health and the environment. Bio-fertilizer has been identified as an alternative for increasing soil fertility and crop production in sustainable farming. The exploitation of beneficial microbes as bio-fertilizers has become of paramount importance in agricultural sector due to their potential role in food safety and sustainable crop production. Bio-fertilizer can be an important component of integrated nutrients management. Microorganisms that are commonly used as bio-fertilizer components include; nitrogen fixers (N-fixer), potassium and phosphorus solubilizers, growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPRs), endo and ecto mycorrhizal fungi, cyanobacteria and other useful microscopic organisms. The use of bio-fertilizers leads to improved nutrients and water uptake, plant growth and plant tolerance to abiotic and biotic factors. In wheat, non-symbiotic spp. like Azotobacter and streptomyces may be used as a potential source of plant growth promoter and also can reduce chemical fertilizer up to 25% with compromising yield. Thus, these potential biological fertilizers would play a key role in productivity and sustainability of soil and also in protecting the environment as eco-friendly and cost effective inputs for the farmers. This review will overview the importance of biofertilizers with different sources of chemical fertilizers in wheat.

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Revisiting Sulphur—The Once Neglected Nutrient: It’s Roles in Plant Growth, Metabolism, Stress Tolerance and Crop Production

Agriculture ◽

10.3390/agriculture11070626 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (7) ◽

pp. 626

Author(s):

Tinashe Zenda ◽

Songtao Liu ◽

Anyi Dong ◽

Huijun Duan

Keyword(s):

Plant Growth ◽

Abiotic Stresses ◽

Crop Production ◽

Production Systems ◽

Crop Productivity ◽

Plant Phenotyping ◽

Special Importance ◽

Nutrient Deficiencies ◽

Sulphur Nutrition ◽

Physiological Processes

Sulphur plays crucial roles in plant growth and development, with its functions ranging from being a structural constituent of macro-biomolecules to modulating several physiological processes and tolerance to abiotic stresses. In spite of these numerous sulphur roles being well acknowledged, agriculture has paid scant regard for sulphur nutrition, until only recently. Serious problems related to soil sulphur deficiencies have emerged and the intensification of food, fiber, and animal production is escalating to feed the ever-increasing human population. In the wake of huge demand for high quality cereal and vegetable diets, sulphur can play a key role in augmenting the production, productivity, and quality of crops. Additionally, in light of the emerging problems of soil fertility exhaustion and climate change-exacerbated environmental stresses, sulphur assumes special importance in crop production, particularly under intensively cropped areas. Here, citing several relevant examples, we highlight, in addition to its plant biological and metabolism functions, how sulphur can significantly enhance crop productivity and quality, as well as acclimation to abiotic stresses. By this appraisal, we also aim to stimulate readers interests in crop sulphur research by providing priorities for future pursuance, including bettering our understanding of the molecular processes and dynamics of sulphur availability and utilization in plants, dissecting the role of soil rhizospherical microbes in plant sulphur transformations, enhancing plant phenotyping and diagnosis for nutrient deficiencies, and matching site-specific crop sulphur demands with fertilizer amendments in order to reduce nutrient use inefficiencies in both crop and livestock production systems. This will facilitate the proper utilization of sulphur in crop production and eventually enhance sustainable and environmentally friend food production.

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The Applications of Nanotechnology in Crop Production

Molecules ◽

10.3390/molecules26237070 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 26 (23) ◽

pp. 7070

Author(s):

Chenxu Liu ◽

Hui Zhou ◽

Jie Zhou

Keyword(s):

Plant Growth ◽

Specific Surface ◽

Crop Production ◽

Molecular Level ◽

High Specific Surface Area ◽

Growth Stages ◽

Crop Tolerance ◽

Plant Growth Stages ◽

Global Agriculture ◽

Promote Plant Growth

With the frequent occurrence of extreme climate, global agriculture is confronted with unprecedented challenges, including increased food demand and a decline in crop production. Nanotechnology is a promising way to boost crop production, enhance crop tolerance and decrease the environmental pollution. In this review, we summarize the recent findings regarding innovative nanotechnology in crop production, which could help us respond to agricultural challenges. Nanotechnology, which involves the use of nanomaterials as carriers, has a number of diverse applications in plant growth and crop production, including in nanofertilizers, nanopesticides, nanosensors and nanobiotechnology. The unique structures of nanomaterials such as high specific surface area, centralized distribution size and excellent biocompatibility facilitate the efficacy and stability of agro-chemicals. Besides, using appropriate nanomaterials in plant growth stages or stress conditions effectively promote plant growth and increase tolerance to stresses. Moreover, emerging nanotools and nanobiotechnology provide a new platform to monitor and modify crops at the molecular level.

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Plant-Microbe Interactions in Alleviating Abiotic Stress—A Mini Review

Frontiers in Agronomy ◽

10.3389/fagro.2021.667903 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 3 ◽

Author(s):

Michael Prabhu Inbaraj

Keyword(s):

Abiotic Stress ◽

Plant Growth ◽

Mycorrhizal Fungi ◽

Abiotic Stresses ◽

Current Knowledge ◽

Crop Plants ◽

Stress Factors ◽

Limiting Factors ◽

Nutrient Deficiencies ◽

The Impact

Crop plants are continuously exposed to various abiotic stresses like drought, salinity, ultraviolet radiation, low and high temperatures, flooding, metal toxicities, nutrient deficiencies which act as limiting factors that hampers plant growth and low agricultural productivity. Climate change and intensive agricultural practices has further aggravated the impact of abiotic stresses leading to a substantial crop loss worldwide. Crop plants have to get acclimatized to various environmental abiotic stress factors. Though genetic engineering is applied to improve plants tolerance to abiotic stresses, these are long-term strategies, and many countries have not accepted them worldwide. Therefore, use of microbes can be an economical and ecofriendly tool to avoid the shortcomings of other strategies. The microbial community in close proximity to the plant roots is so diverse in nature and can play an important role in mitigating the abiotic stresses. Plant-associated microorganisms, such as endophytes, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), and plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR), are well-documented for their role in promoting crop productivity and providing stress tolerance. This mini review highlights and discusses the current knowledge on the role of various microbes and it's tolerance mechanisms which helps the crop plants to mitigate and tolerate varied abiotic stresses.

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Microbes in Cahoots with Plants: MIST to Hit the Jackpot of Agricultural Productivity during Drought

International Journal of Molecular Sciences ◽

10.3390/ijms20071769 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 20 (7) ◽

pp. 1769 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Manoj Kaushal

Keyword(s):

Plant Growth ◽

Mycorrhizal Fungi ◽

Crop Production ◽

Agricultural Productivity ◽

Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria ◽

Early Response ◽

Crop Productivity ◽

Marker Genes ◽

Polyamine Biosynthesis ◽

Chick Pea

Drought conditions marked by water deficit impede plant growth thus causing recurrent decline in agricultural productivity. Presently, research efforts are focussed towards harnessing the potential of microbes to enhance crop production during drought. Microbial communities, such as arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) buddy up with plants to boost crop productivity during drought via microbial induced systemic tolerance (MIST). The present review summarizes MIST mechanisms during drought comprised of modulation in phytohormonal profiles, sturdy antioxidant defence, osmotic grapnel, bacterial exopolysaccharides (EPS) or AMF glomalin production, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), expression of fungal aquaporins and stress responsive genes, which alters various physiological processes such as hydraulic conductance, transpiration rate, stomatal conductivity and photosynthesis in host plants. Molecular studies have revealed microbial induced differential expression of various genes such as ERD15 (Early Response to Dehydration 15), RAB18 (ABA-responsive gene) in Arabidopsis, COX1 (regulates energy and carbohydrate metabolism), PKDP (protein kinase), AP2-EREBP (stress responsive pathway), Hsp20, bZIP1 and COC1 (chaperones in ABA signalling) in Pseudomonas fluorescens treated rice, LbKT1, LbSKOR (encoding potassium channels) in Lycium, PtYUC3 and PtYUC8 (IAA biosynthesis) in AMF inoculated Poncirus, ADC, AIH, CPA, SPDS, SPMS and SAMDC (polyamine biosynthesis) in PGPR inoculated Arabidopsis, 14-3-3 genes (TFT1-TFT12 genes in ABA signalling pathways) in AMF treated Solanum, ACO, ACS (ethylene biosynthesis), jasmonate MYC2 gene in chick pea, PR1 (SA regulated gene), pdf1.2 (JA marker genes) and VSP1 (ethylene-response gene) in Pseudomonas treated Arabidopsis plants. Moreover, the key role of miRNAs in MIST has also been recorded in Pseudomonas putida RA treated chick pea plants.

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Improvement of plant performance under water deficit with the employment of biological and chemical priming agents

The Journal of Agricultural Science ◽

10.1017/s0021859618000126 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 156 (5) ◽

pp. 680-688 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

R. Balestrini ◽

W. Chitarra ◽

C. Antoniou ◽

M. Ruocco ◽

V. Fotopoulos

Keyword(s):

Mycorrhizal Fungi ◽

Crop Production ◽

Current Knowledge ◽

Arbuscular Mycorrhizal ◽

Plant Performance ◽

Plant Tolerance ◽

Climate Change Research ◽

Chemical Agents ◽

Chemical Priming

AbstractDrought represents one of the major constraints on agricultural productivity and food security and in future is destined to spread widely as a consequence of climate change. Research efforts are focused on developing strategies to make crops more resilient and to mitigate the effects of stress on crop production. In this context, the use of root-associated microbial communities and chemical priming strategies able to improve plant tolerance to abiotic stresses, including drought, have attracted increasing attention in recent years. The current review offers an overview of recent research aimed at verifying the role of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and chemical agents to improve plant tolerance to drought and to highlight the mechanisms involved in this improvement. Attention will be devoted mainly to current knowledge on the mechanisms involved in water transport.

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Microalgal Biostimulants and Biofertilisers in Crop Productions

Agronomy ◽

10.3390/agronomy9040192 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (4) ◽

pp. 192 ◽

Cited By ~ 41

Author(s):

Domenico Ronga ◽

Elisa Biazzi ◽

Katia Parati ◽

Domenico Carminati ◽

Elio Carminati ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Plant Growth ◽

Abiotic Stresses ◽

Crop Production ◽

Crop Yields ◽

Foliar Application ◽

Crop Protection ◽

Seed Priming ◽

Biologically Active ◽

Agricultural Sustainability ◽

Natural Substances

Microalgae are attracting the interest of agrochemical industries and farmers, due to their biostimulant and biofertiliser properties. Microalgal biostimulants (MBS) and biofertilisers (MBF) might be used in crop production to increase agricultural sustainability. Biostimulants are products derived from organic material that, applied in small quantities, are able to stimulate the growth and development of several crops under both optimal and stressful conditions. Biofertilisers are products containing living microorganisms or natural substances that are able to improve chemical and biological soil properties, stimulating plant growth, and restoring soil fertility. This review is aimed at reporting developments in the processing of MBS and MBF, summarising the biologically-active compounds, and examining the researches supporting the use of MBS and MBF for managing productivity and abiotic stresses in crop productions. Microalgae are used in agriculture in different applications, such as amendment, foliar application, and seed priming. MBS and MBF might be applied as an alternative technique, or used in conjunction with synthetic fertilisers, crop protection products and plant growth regulators, generating multiple benefits, such as enhanced rooting, higher crop yields and quality and tolerance to drought and salt. Worldwide, MBS and MBF remain largely unexploited, such that this study highlights some of the current researches and future development priorities.

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PENINGKATAN PERTUMBUHAN TANAMAN JAGUNG ( Zea mays L.) MENGGUNAKAN JAMUR MIKORIZA ARBUSKULAR DARI JENIS YANG BERBEDA PADA KONDISI CEKAMAN AIR

Biocelebes ◽

10.22487/bioceb.v14i1.15081 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 14 (1) ◽

pp. 1-9

Author(s):

Wahyu Harso ◽

Isna Isna ◽

Yusran Yusran

Keyword(s):

Plant Growth ◽

Mycorrhizal Fungi ◽

Arbuscular Mycorrhizal ◽

Field Capacity ◽

Dry Weight ◽

Maize Plant ◽

Shoot Dry Weight ◽

Infected Root ◽

Promote Plant Growth ◽

Maize Plants

Arbsucular mycorrhizal fungi promote plant growth by enhancing mineral uptake. Contribution degree of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi to promote plant growth depend on species of plant-fungus association. The aim of this study was to compare the ability of three species of Glomus to promote maize plant growth. Maize plants were inoculated with 20 g inoculum of either Glomus deserticola, Glomus etunicatum, or Glomus clorum. Inoculum was soil containing spore, hyphae and infected root. Maize plants without addition inoculum were also used as a control. Water availability in the soil as growing medium was maintained on 40% field capacity. The results showed that addition of inoculum from three species of Glomus increased average of maize plant shoot dry weight although there was no statisticaly significant differences. Maize plant inoculated with G. clorum had higher shoot dry weight than maize plant inoculated either with G. etunicatum or G. deserticola while root colonization by G. clorum was lowest.

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Exogenous Applications of Moringa Leaf Extract and Cytokinins Improve Plant Growth, Yield, and Fruit Quality of Cherry Tomato

HortTechnology ◽

10.21273/horttech.26.3.327 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 26 (3) ◽

pp. 327-337 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Shahzad M.A. Basra ◽

Carol J. Lovatt

Keyword(s):

Plant Growth ◽

Fruit Quality ◽

Untreated Control ◽

Crop Production ◽

Leaf Extract ◽

Growth Promoter ◽

Cherry Tomato ◽

Shoot Number ◽

Moringa Leaf Extract

Growth-promoting properties of moringa (Moringa oleifera) leaves were investigated for potential use in crop production by comparing the efficacy of bimonthly foliar and root applications of a moringa leaf extract [MLE (3.3% w/v)] with the cytokinins 6-benzyladenine (6-BA) and trans-zeatin (t-Z), each at 25 mg·L−1, to increase plant growth, flowering, yield, fruit size, and fruit quality of ‘Super Sweet 100’ cherry tomato (Solanum lycopersicum). Foliar-applied t-Z and root-applied MLE increased canopy biomass (P ≤ 0.01) and root- and foliar-applied MLE increased lateral vegetative shoot number (P ≤ 0.001) and plant height (P ≤ 0.001) relative to untreated control plants. Only foliar-applied MLE increased floral shoot number compared with untreated control plants (P ≤ 0.001). Plants in all treatments, except root-applied 6-BA, produced more flowers than untreated control plants (P ≤ 0.001). Plants receiving root-applied t-Z produced the greatest number of flowers followed by plants receiving root-applied MLE. Cherry tomato plants treated with root-applied t-Z or MLE produced the greatest number of fruit per plant and significantly more than untreated control plants (P ≤ 0.001). Foliar-applied 6-BA and MLE and root-applied t-Z and MLE increased yield as grams of fruit per plant compared with the untreated control (P ≤ 0.01). Foliar- and root-applied MLE increased fruit concentrations of soluble sugars (P ≤ 0.001), protein (P ≤ 0.001), antioxidants (P ≤ 0.001), and lycopene (P ≤ 0.001) compared with fruit from untreated control plants. Foliar- and/or root-applied MLE resulted in the greatest leaf concentrations of protein (P ≤ 0.01), proline (P ≤ 0.01), arginine (P ≤ 0.01), and total antioxidants (P ≤ 0.05), which were all significantly greater than the concentrations in leaves from untreated control plants. The results of this single experiment provide evidence suggesting that MLE warrants further research as an inexpensive growth promoter for enhancing tomato plant biomass, yield, and fruit quality, especially in organic crop production, which prohibits the use of many commercial synthetic plant growth regulators.

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