Advances in biostimulants as an integrated pest management tool in horticulture

This chapter covers the definition of biostimulants, brief summary of various categories, and how they are used for promoting plant growth, building soil structure, imparting stress tolerance, and contribute to pest and disease suppression. Strategies for using biostimulants as a part of IPM and some challenges and future opportunities were also discussed.

Edaphic fauna and physico-chemical atributes of soil in different phytophysionomies of Cerrado

ABSTRACT The edaphic community comprises several organisms that perform ecological functions in the environment, such as litter fragmentation, nutrient cycling, and modifications of soil structure, in addition to acting as food chain regulators. Thus, the objective of this study was to evaluate the composition of the edaphic fauna and the physical and chemical attributes of soil in different physiognomies of Cerrado in the Parque Estadual do Mirador (PEM). The study was carried out in two Cerrado formations (Sparse Cerrado and Typical Cerrado) in PEM, where 100 pitfall traps were installed. The edaphic organisms were screened and identified in terms of orders, suborders, subfamilies, families, abundance, richness, Shannon diversity, and Pielou’s equitability. A total of 4,149 individuals were collected from two experimental plots. The plot in the Typical Cerrado showed greater taxonomic richness (25 groups) and greater Shannon diversity (H’ = 1.65), while the plot in Sparse Cerrado presented 19 edaphic groups and Shannon diversity equal to H’ = 1.51. The factorial exploration explained 84.43% of the original data from the Sparse Cerrado and 90.84% from the Typical Cerrado. It is concluded that the plot in the Typical Cerrado showed greater differences in terms of richness and abundance due to the more favorable conditions for soil fauna, such as a high content of organic material and greater vegetation cover.