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The integration of plant biostimulants use to improve the efficiency of crop production can contribute to increasing the agronomic efficiency. Through this study we aimed to investigate the cytogenetic effects of the Quantis biostimulant on the meristematic cells of Allium sativum (garlic), at different concentrations (1, 1.5 and 2.5%) for 8 and 24 h. The results obtained showed that, at 1 and 1.5% concentration, Quantis induced the increase of the mitotic division intensity in A. sativum cells, both during at 8 and 24 h of treatment, compared to the untreated control variant. This fact suggests that, at the respective concentrations, Quantis improves the growth and development processes of the plant. In contrast, at 2.5% concentration, the index of mitotic division decreased by 36.6% (at 8 h), respectively by 64.9% (at 24 h of treatment), compared to the control. Also, at 2.5% Quantis, some chromosomal aberrations and nuclear anomalies were recorded: sticky and laggards’ chromosomes, C-mitosis, micronucleus, nuclear bud and nuclear dissolution. These results suggest that when is used in high concentrations, Quantis induces some cytotoxic and genotoxic effects on A. sativum, which can disrupt the plant growth.

This cytogenetic study evaluates the biostimulation potential of the aqueous extract of seabuckthorn fruits (AESF) in plant cells, using the Allium cepa species as a test plant. The effects were monitored both at the macroscopic and microscopically level. The onion bulbs were exposed to the action of different concentrations of AESF (0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, and 2.5%) for 72 h. The obtained results showed the positive effect induced by the aqueous extract on the growth of the meristematic roots, but only at concentrations ranging between 0.5–1.5%, when the average length of the roots had values between 2.51–3.40 cm, which means an increase compared to the untreated control with 3.71–40.49%. Within the same concentration range of the AESF, an effect of intensifying the mitotic activity was recorded. On the other hand, at the 2–2.5% concentration of the AESF, there was an inhibitory effect on the growth of meristematic roots. Additionally, concentrations ≥2% of AESF induced a cytotoxic and genotoxic effect through the occurrence of some chromosomal and nuclear abnormalities in A. cepa cells (sticky, laggards, ring chromosomes, and micronucleus). The obtained results suggest the biostimulation potential of the AESF for plant cells and the possibility of using it as an eco-friendly fertilizer.

With the unprecedented development of the food industry, food preservatives have gained a leading role in food processing. In this study, investigations were carried out to assess the cytological effects of potassium metabisulphite (PMB) to onion (Allium cepa), one of the most used plants for determining the cytotoxic and genotoxic effects of different chemicals. Meristematic roots of A. cepa were treated with PMB solutions in different concentrations, ranging from 10 mg/l to 35 mg/l for 6, 12 and 24 h alongside an untreated control. The quantified parameters for the different concentrations of the PMB were mitotic index (MI %), mitosis phases index (PI %) and total abnormalities index (TAI %) meaning chromosomal aberrations and nuclear abnormalities. The results indicated that PMB reduced MI in A. cepa with increasing the concentrations and time exposure as compared with the untreated control. Thus, at concentration of 10 -35 mg/l PMB, these values were reduced from 8.34% to 4.81% (6 h); 7.18% to 2.35% (12 h) and 4.12 to 1.43 (24 h). Also, the TAI value increased with increasing PMB concentrations and time: 0.51% to 9.98% (6 h), 7.11% to 19.84% (12 h) and 17.79 to 41.21 (24 h). The types of abnormalities induced by PMB in A. cepa meristematic cells were micronucleus, C-metaphase, star anaphase, stickiness, laggards, fragments, binucleated cells and pulverised nucleus. These alarming findings indicate the cytotoxic and genotoxic effect of PMB to A. cepa and suggest necessity to adopt more natural alternatives for food preservation in the future.