Fertilization of bean plants with tomato plants hydrolysates. Effect on biomass production, chlorophyll content and N assimilation

Abstract

Humic-like substances obtained by alkaline hydrolysis of composted organic wastes are known to improve plant productivity. Little is known concerning the effect on plant growth of hydrolysates obtained by alkaline treatment of non-composted vegetal residues.The aim of this study was to prepare, characterize, and apply in horticulture the soluble and the insoluble fractions obtained by alkaline hydrolysis of exhausted tomato plants. The hydrolysates were prepared in a pilot plant from the tomato plants residue in powder form and characterized by solid state 13C NMR spectrometry, elemental analysis and potentiometric titration. The characterization of the soluble hydrolysate gave evidence of lignin and hemicellulose moieties, together with protein, peptide or amino acids while most of the cellulose was found in the insoluble fraction. Plant beans were grown on a peat and sand substrate fertilized with low application rate of the tomato plant powder and of the corresponding hydrolysates. The effect on bean plants was assessed by determination of plant growth, chlorophyll content, nitrate reductase, glutamine synthetase, glutamate synthase activities and soluble proteins.The tomato plant powder had no effect on all parameters measured on the grown bean plants. On the contrary, the insoluble and soluble substances sourced by alkaline hydrolysis of the tomato plant powder exhibit strong effects, mainly the increase of nitrogen assimilation typical of biostimulants.The results suggest that residual plant biomasses are source of efficient biostimolant and propose the hydrolysis of residual biomass as a viable profitable process to contribute important improvements also for waste management practices. © 2014 Elsevier B.V

Films made from poly(vinyl alcohol‐co‐ethylene) and soluble biopolymers isolated from postharvest tomato plant

“…6,7 This procedure, designed for biomass analytical purposes, is expected to separate the major biomass proximates on the basis of the components' solubility in benzene and in HCl at different temperatures (Scheme 1, steps 1-3). Formally, the different fractions isolated in steps 1 to 3 are expected to represent lipids and apolar compounds (F1), hemicellulose and proteins (F2), cellulose (F3), and lignin (IR3).…”

“…7 Thus the manufacture of EVOH blends containing these substances would benefit from the mechanical properties contributed by the synthetic polymer and from the hydrophilic functional groups and eco-compatibility of the LS. In addition, the blends fabricated with these LS would be ideal for the manufacture of mulch film to use in agriculture, where at the end of their service life might be exploited for their plant biostimulant properties.…”

Soluble Bio-based Substances Obtained from Urban Wastes: Isolation and Characterization

“…1.2); e.g. in the formulation of detergents-textile dyeing baths, emulsifiers [15], auxiliaries for soil/water remediation [16] and enhanced oil recovery [17], flocculants, dispersants and binding agents Solid residue recovered after 270 days aerobic biodegradation of plant residues UB CV T360 Solid residue recovered after 360 days aerobic biodegradation of plant residues for ceramics manufacture [11], nanostructured materials for chemical [18] and biochemical catalysis [19], plastic materials [20], soil fertilizers and plant biostimulants for agriculture [21,22] and animal feed supplements [23,24]. Such variety of applications is possible due to the fact that SBO is a mixture of molecules with molecular weights comprised in a wide range over 5 kD which contain a variety of functional groups (see virtual molecular fragments in Fig.…”

Thermopressed Binderless Fiberboards from Post-HarvestTomato and Maize Plants

“…These bio-based compounds, blended with synthetic polyethylene copolymers, yield plastic films that can be used for soil protection in agriculture. Finally, the raw PHT plants and their low temperature alkaline hydrolysates have been shown efficient biostimulants for the cultivation of bean [12] and radish [2] plants. In the present work, the manufacture of self-bonded wood-fiber based boards from post-harvest tomato and maize plant materials was investigated as further attractive application, which could broaden the range of opportunities to valorize the above agriculture residues.…”

“…In this sector, as well as in all sectors of human activities, the use and/or the re-use of recycled materials and renewable materials is a currently pursued strategy for reducing the implied energy consumption and environmental impact [15]. In order to manufacture the boards described in this work, the PHT, PHM and CPHT were available from previous works [2,4,5,12]. The PHT and PHM were the plants collected at the end of the crop production stage of the tomato and maize experimental cultivation trials, respectively.…”