Biostimulants are receiving increasing attention for their beneficial effects on crops, driving interest in identifying new plant extracts that could exert such stimulatory effects. This work aimed to evaluate the potential of an aqueous extract obtained from duckweed (Lemna minor L.), a freshwater species, to act as a biostimulant in maize. For this purpose, duckweed plants were collected from a natural basin and then transferred, stabilized, and grown under controlled conditions. The duckweed extract was first characterized through untargeted profiling, which revealed an abundance of bioactive phytochemicals. A relatively high amount of low-molecular-weight secondary metabolites such as phenolics (6714.99 mg kg−1) and glucosinolates (4563.74 mg kg−1) were present in the plant extract. Maize seeds were primed with different concentrations of this extract (0.01%, 0.05%, 0.50%, and 1.00%, dry weight/water volume), and some physiological and biochemical traits of the crop were recorded. The duckweed extract improved maize germination, biomass, leaf area, pigment content, and vigor index. The most effective treatment was the 0.50% concentration, which improved the majority of the measured growth traits. The extract at concentrations of 0.05%, 0.50%, and 1.00% stimulated the assimilation of nitrogen (N), phosphorous (P), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), sodium (Na), iron (Fe), and copper (Cu). In summary, this study revealed that duckweed is a promising species that can be cultured and grown under controlled conditions for obtaining extracts with biostimulant properties.

All living organisms require iron (Fe) to carry out many crucial metabolic pathways. Despite its high concentrations in the geosphere, Fe bio-availability to plant roots can be very scarce. To cope with Fe shortage, plants can activate different strategies. For these reasons, we investigated Fe deficient Hordeum vulgare L. plants by monitoring growth, phytosiderophores (PS) release, iron content, and translocation, and DNA methylation, with respect to Fe sufficient ones. Reductions of plant growth, roots to shoots Fe translocation, and increases in PS release were found. Experiments on DNA methylation highlighted significant differences between fully and hemy-methylated sequences in Fe deficient plants, with respect to Fe sufficient plants. Eleven DNA bands differently methylated were found in starved plants. Of these, five sequences showed significant alignment to barley genes encoding for a glucosyltransferase, a putative acyl carrier protein, a peroxidase, a β-glucosidase and a transcription factor containing a Homeodomin. A resupply experiment was carried out on starved barley re-fed at 13 days after sowing (DAS), and it showed that plants did not recover after Fe addition. In fact, Fe absorption and root to shoot translocation capacities were impaired. In addition, resupplied barley showed DNA methylation/demethylation patterns very similar to that of barley grown in Fe deprivation. This last finding is very encouraging because it indicates as these variations/modifications could be transmitted to progenies.

Salinity is one of the most impacting abiotic stresses regarding crop productivity and quality. Among the strategies that are attracting attention in the protection of crops from abiotic stresses, there is the use of plant biostimulants. In this study, Megafol (Meg), a commercial plant biostimulant, was tested on olive plants subjected to severe saline stress. Plants treated with salt alone showed substantial reductions in biomass production, leaf net photosynthesis (Pn), leaf transpiration rate (E), stomatal conductance (gs), and relative water content (RWC). In addition, samples stressed with NaCl showed a higher sodium (Na+) content in the leaves, while those stressed with NaCl and biostimulated with Meg increased the potassium (K+) content in the leaves, thus showing a higher K+/Na+ ratio. Salinity caused the accumulation of significant quantities of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and malondialdehyde (MDA) due to decreases in the activity of antioxidant enzymes, namely superoxide dismutase (SOD – EC 1.15.1.1), ascorbate peroxidase (APX – EC 1.11.1.11), guaiacol peroxidase (GPX – EC 1.11.1.9), and catalase (CAT – EC 1.11.1.6). When olive plants under saline stress were biostimulated with Meg, the plants recovered and showed physiological and biochemical traits much improved than salt stressed samples. Finally, Meg exhibited Ca2+-chelating activity in olive pollen grains, which allowed the biostimulant to exert this beneficial effect also by antagonizing the undesirable effects of hydrogen peroxide on Ca2+ metabolism.

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The problems arising from the limited availability of natural resources and the impact of certain anthropogenic activities on the environment must be addressed as soon as possible. To meet this challenge, it is necessary, among other things, to reconsider and redesign agricultural systems to find more sustainable and environmentally friendly solutions, paying specific attention to waste from agriculture. Indeed, the transition to a more sustainable and circular economy should also involve the effective valorization of agricultural waste, which should be seen as an excellent opportunity to obtain valuable materials. For the reasons mentioned above, this review reports and discusses updated studies dealing with the valorization of agricultural waste, through its conversion into materials to be applied to crops and soil. In particular, this review highlights the opportunity to obtain plant biostimulants, biofertilizers, and biopolymers from agricultural waste. This approach can decrease the impact of waste on the environment, allow the replacement and reduction in the use of synthetic compounds in agriculture, and facilitate the transition to a sustainable circular economy.