A Biostimulant Based on Seaweed (Ascophyllum nodosum and Laminaria digitata) and Yeast Extracts Mitigates Water Stress Effects on Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.)

Abstract

Water deficit is one of the most problematic stressors worldwide. In this context, the use of biostimulants represents an increasingly ecological practice aimed to improve crop tolerance and mitigate the negative effects on the productivity. Here, the effect derived from the foliar application of ERANTHIS®, a biostimulant based on seaweed (Ascophyllum nodosum and Laminaria digitata) and yeast extracts, was tested on tomato plants grown under mild water-stress conditions. The potential stress mitigation action was evaluated by monitoring morphometric (fresh weight and dry matter content), physiological (stem water potential) and biochemical (ROS scavenger enzymes activity, proline, abscisic acid, hydrogen peroxide and photosynthetic pigment content) parameters closely related to the occurrence and response to stress at both flowering and fruit-set timing. In general, we observed that plants grown under drought conditions and treated with the biostimulant had a lower amount of ABA, and MDA and proline correlated to a lower activity of ROS scavenger enzymes compared to untreated plants. These data, together with the higher stem water potential and photosynthetic pigment levels recorded for the treated plants, suggest that ERANTHIS® may mitigate water stress effects on tomato.

Potential of Seaweed Extract on Growth, Physiological, Cytological and Biochemical Parameters of Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) Seedlings

“…These findings show that the plants primed with seaweed extracts were subjected to less stress than the control plants, resulting in healthy growth. The results of the current study are consistent with those of Almaroai and Eissa (2020) and Campobenedetto et al (2021). The fact that most of the plant's energy is directed to the biosynthetic route of macromolecules like carbohydrates and proteins may explain the lower proline accumulation in wheat seedlings.…”

Transcriptional and Physiological Analyses to Assess the Effects of a Novel Biostimulant in Tomato

“…Biostimulant application has been observed to either promote this antioxidant enzymatic activity as a response to the water-limited conditions ( Liu et al, 2013 ) or, even before the stress application, exerting a priming effect that restrains the negative effects of the incoming stress ( Goñi et al, 2016 ; Santaniello et al, 2017 ). In other cases, it can conversely slow down the activation of such metabolic pathways, compared to what happens in untreated plants, suggesting a process of adaptation to the drought stress due to the biostimulant treatment ( Murtic et al, 2019 ; Campobenedetto et al, 2021 ). Our results on the lower expression levels of SODCC.1 in water-stressed plants treated with the novel biostimulant, compared to plants treated with the standard CaCl2 fertilizer, are following these last observations.…”

Effects of Nitrogen, Azoxystrobin and a Biostimulant Based on Brown Algae and Yeast on Wild Rocket Features at Harvest and During Storage

“…Among the biostimulating substances used in agriculture, there is a growing spread of products based on algae and yeast extracts, which have been found to have a biostimulating effect on various species. Algae extracts, even at low concentrations, are able to induce a series of physiological responses of the plant, such as increasing growth, flowering, yield, polyphenol content, shelf life, tolerance to abiotic stress of different origins (salinity, water stress, heat and frost) [14][15][16]. Considering the need of having high quality plant material for fresh-cut products and the high perishability of wild rocket, it is important to implement all the agronomic strategies that improve yield and qualitative characteristics together with an adequately long shelf life.…”