Effect of Plant Biostimulants on Nutritional and Chemical Profiles of Almond and Hazelnut

Abstract

The increasing interest in natural foods with functional effects demands progressively higher production levels. Nonetheless, there is an orientation towards practicing more sustainable agriculture, free from environmentally harmful pesticides and fertilizers. Plant biostimulants, a class of bio-based agriculture products designed to improve crop development, represent a feasible alternative to chemical fertilizers, or, at least, an effective way of reducing the employed quantities. Herein, different types of plant biostimulants compatible with organic farming (Phytoalgae, Foliar B, Amino Acids, Soil B, Fitoalgas Green® and Sprint Plus®) were tested in two of the most important nut products worldwide: almonds and hazelnuts, which were tested for nutritional parameters, fatty acids profiles and tocopherols contents. Overall, the most notorious effects in almond samples were obtained with phytoalgae (seaweed Ascophyllum nodosum extracts), particularly reflected in the upraising around 10% of γ-tocopherol and β-tocopherol contents. Likewise, hazelnuts treated with NPK + phytoalgae were also characterized by an increase of almost 18% in tocopherols levels, while treatment with NPK alone induced 15.1% higher percentage of linoleic acid.

Badem yetiştiriciliğinde yapraktan deniz yosunu uygulamalarının meyve kalitesi ve verime etkisi

“…There was no significant change in the fatty acid content of almond varieties with seaweed applications. It was reported that there was no change in fatty acids in the seaweed-treated Vairo' almond variety, and only linoleic acid amounted to 16.9% and a slight decrease (17.2%) was determined compared to the control (Pascoalino et al, 2021).…”

“…Studies on seaweed in almonds are almost nonexistent. Studies related to the use of seaweed as a biostimulant exist in the literature (Pascoalino et al, 2021). Fatty acids are another of the most important factors that make up the quality of almonds.…”

Physical, Nutritional, and Chemical Profile of Innovative Bakery Products

“…These results were expressed as g 100g -1 of fw (fresh weight). Soluble sugar determination: Free sugars were determined by HPLC-RI system using a methodology described by (12). Freeze-dried samples were extracted with ethanol:water (80:20; v/v).…”

Cytogenetic and molecular characterization of almond trees treated with plant biostimulants or boron-based fertilizers

“…'Vairo' (syn. 'Vayro,' breeder's reference IRTAMB-A21-323) was to regions with hot summers, such as the Algarve and the NE of Portugal, where it has been widely cultivated (Queirós 2020;Pascoalino et al 2021). However, the agricultural practices and edaphoclimatic conditions such as low fertility soils or late frosts compromise the P. dulcis productivity and its biochemical profile (Queirós 2020;Pascoalino et al 2021).…”

“…The treatment of P. dulcis (foliage and rootstocks) with PBs or boron-based fertilizers can improve growth, stress tolerance, yield, and nutrient uptake (Saa et al 2015;Torres et al 2015;Mondragón-Valero et al 2019, 2020Pascoalino et al 2021).…”