Title : Application of biostimulants in horticultural crops
Abstract:
In modern agriculture, it is a high priority to seek eco-friendly ways to enhance plant growth and promote crop productivity. Biostimulants are a group of substances derived from natural origin contributing towards boosting plant yield and nutrient uptake, while reducing the dependency on chemical fertilizers. They are usually able to improve the nutrient use ef?ciency of plants and enhance tolerance of biotic and abiotic stresses in them. In leaf vegetables which are highly susceptible to accumulation of nitrate, biostimulants can play an important role to keep away the nitrates from them and improve the quality. Moreover, biostimulants can increase leaf pigments (chlorophyll and carotenoids), stimulate root growth, and enhance the potential of antioxidant in plants. In ?oriculture, biostimulants utilize in plant production stimulated the growth of plants reached the blooming and commercial stages earlier. In fruit trees, biostimulants improve fruit set, retention, yield, fruit quality, and vegetative growth. In this review, the state of the art and future prospects for biostimulants are reported and discussed.
