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Abiotic Stresses, Biostimulant and Plant Activity—Series II

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A special issue of Agriculture (ISSN 2077-0472). This special issue belongs to the section "Crop Production".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 March 2024) | Viewed by 8593

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Prof. Dr. Daniele Del Buono

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Department of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences, University of Perugia, 06121 Perugia, Italy
Interests: phytoremediation; nanoparticle; biostimulant; heavy metal; oxidative stress; plant nutrition; plant biochemistry; herbicides; abiotic stress in plant
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Prof. Dr. Primo Proietti

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Department of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences, University of Perugia, 06121 Perugia, Italy
Interests: soil fertility; agriculture environment; plant physiology; sustainable agriculture; biofortification; abiotic stresses; carbon sequestration; fruit quality
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Dr. Luca Regni

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Department of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences, University of Perugia, Borgo XX Giugno, 06121 Perugia, Italy
Interests: in vitro culture; micropropagation; tree crops; agricultural byproduct valorization; sustainable agriculture; C sequestration; salt stress
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Biotic and abiotic stresses, exacerbated by climate change, can significantly affect cropping systems, significantly reducing crop productivity as well as product quality. Considering that the world population is constantly growing, agriculture must respond through sustainable practices and methodologies to meet the increasing need for food production, also reducing the impacts of stress.

Salt, drought, and heat stress are the abiotic stresses that particularly impact cropping systems. For these reasons, sustainable measures need to be implemented to increase crop stress tolerance and maintain/increase the production of agricultural systems. To this end, biostimulants, materials capable of increasing plant tolerance to stress and, therefore, crop productivity, and product quality profiles are assuming a growing interest and importance. The primary function of biostimulants is improving nutrient use efficiency, quality traits, stress tolerance, and the bioavailability of nutrients in soil or the rhizosphere.

Therefore, this Special Issue aims to collect research on the effects of biostimulants but also other materials and techniques (i.e., nanomaterials, priming, etc.) on promoting plants’ growth, yield, and product quality, as well as in abiotic stress conditions. In addition, new substances with biostimulant action, in addition to studies investigating the mechanisms of action of biostimulants and their qualitative, economic, and environmental benefits, will also be considered.

Prof. Dr. Daniele Del Buono
Prof. Dr. Primo Proietti
Dr. Luca Regni
Guest Editors

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Keywords

biostimulants
salinity
drought
heat stress
abiotic stress
plant growth
plants’ yield
climate change

Published Papers (8 papers)

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Research

11 pages, 474 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Role of an Aqueous Extract of Duckweed (Lemna minor L.) in Increasing Salt Tolerance in Olea europaea L.

by Luca Regni, Ciro Tolisano, Daniele Del Buono, Dario Priolo and Primo Proietti

Agriculture 2024, 14(3), 375; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/agriculture14030375 - 26 Feb 2024

Viewed by 948

Abstract

Salt stress is one of the preeminent abiotic stressors capable of strongly impacting crop productivity and quality. Within the array of strategies garnering interest in safeguarding crops against abiotic stresses, the use of plant biostimulants is emerging as a noteworthy avenue. For the above, there is an increasing interest in finding new plant extracts showing biostimulating effects in crops. In the present study, the efficacy of an aqueous extract from an aquatic species, the duckweed (Lemna minor L.), was assessed in olive plants (cv. Arbequina) grown in hydroponics and exposed to severe saline stress (150 mM NaCl). Salt stress caused considerable diminutions in biomass production, leaf net photosynthesis (Pn), leaf transpiration rate (E), and stomatal conductance (gs). The application of the duckweed extract resulted in a notable plant functionality recovery and counteracted the detrimental effects of the NaCl stress. Indeed, the plants stressed with NaCl and treated with the extract showed enhanced physiological and biometric traits compared to samples treated with NaCl alone. In particular, the duckweed extract improved photosynthetic activity and stomatal conductance, reduced the intercellular CO₂ concentration, and ameliorated other physiological and morphological parameters. All these benefits influenced the whole plant growth, allowing samples treated with the extract to maintain a similar performance to that exhibited by the Control plants. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Abiotic Stresses, Biostimulant and Plant Activity—Series II)

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15 pages, 1260 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Vegetative and Reproductive Responses Induced by Organo-Mineral Fertilizers on Young Trees of Almond cv. Tuono Grown in a Medium-High Density Plantation

by Annalisa Tarantino, Laura Frabboni and Grazia Disciglio

Agriculture 2024, 14(2), 230; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/agriculture14020230 - 31 Jan 2024

Viewed by 775

Abstract

Field experiments were conducted in three successive seasons (2019–2021) to evaluate the effects of four commercial organo-mineral fertilizers with biostimulating action (Hendophyt^®, Ergostim^®, and Radicon^®) on the vegetative and productive performance of young almond trees (Prunus dulcis, cv. Tuono) grown in a semiarid climate in Southern Italy. Foliar treatments were applied three times during each season (at the swollen bud, beginning of flowering, and fruit set-beginning of fruit growth stages). Both 2020 and 2021 were adversely affected by late frosts, resulting in damage to the flowers and small fruits without any positive effect of the biostimulant applications. In contrast, the results obtained during the normal climate year (2019) indicated that the growth of trunk diameter and shoot length of trees tended to increase in biostimulant treatments compared to those of the control. The number of buds and flowers per unit length of the branch revealed no significant differences among years and all compared treatments. However, in 2019, the fruit set percentage, number, and weight of kernels per tree were significantly higher in the biostimulant treatments compared to those of the control. To this regard, the use of biofertilizers is suitable for maintaining soil fertility and improving crop productivity This information holds significance for almond tree growers. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Abiotic Stresses, Biostimulant and Plant Activity—Series II)

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14 pages, 2398 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Physiological Response of Miscanthus sinensis (Anderss.) to Biostimulants

by Marta Jańczak-Pieniążek, Wojciech Pikuła, Renata Pawlak, Barbara Drygaś and Ewa Szpunar-Krok

Agriculture 2024, 14(1), 33; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/agriculture14010033 - 23 Dec 2023

Viewed by 754

Abstract

Soil salinity stress is a serious problem in plant cultivation. The effect of this stress is to disrupt the photosynthetic process, which can cause growth restrictions and a decrease in plant productivity. The use of biostimulants can be one of the stress mitigation strategies in plant cultivation. Biostimulants increase the tolerance of plants to abiotic stresses, thus mitigating their adverse effects. In the present study, based on a pot experiment, the effect of foliar application of biostimulants differentiated in terms of chemical composition (Bombardino (B1), Quantis^® (B2), Biofol Plex (B3) and Megafol (B4)) on the physiological properties of Chinese silver grass (Miscanthus sinensis (Anderss.)) plants growing under salt stress conditions was determined. Salt stress was induced by soil application of NaCl at concentrations of 200 and 400 mM. The application of salt solutions was followed by spraying Miscanthus plants with biostimulants using a hand-held sprayer. Physiological investigations (chlorophyll content, chlorophyll fluorescence and gas exchange) have been carried out twice: on the 1st (Term I) and 7th (Term II) day after spraying with biostimulants. It was shown that salt stress causes a decrease in the values of most of the physiological indicators tested (except Ci). On both measurement dates, the application of biostimulants, especially B2, caused an improvement in the values of the physiological indices studied, both for plants growing under optimal conditions and under salt stress. Term II showed an upward trend in most of the analyzed parameters compared to Term I, indicating plant acclimatization to stress conditions. Conducted studies have shown that using biostimulants contributes to the alleviation of the effects of soil salinity stress. The implementation of these practices can contribute to the advancement of sustainable farming. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Abiotic Stresses, Biostimulant and Plant Activity—Series II)

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14 pages, 907 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Bioactive Compounds of Endemic Medicinal Plants (Cuphea spp.) Cultured in Aquaponic Systems: A Short Study

by Priscila Sarai Flores-Aguilar, Amanda Kim Rico-Chávez, Eloy Rodriguez-deLeón, Humberto Aguirre-Becerra, Sergio Aurelio Zamora-Castro and Genaro Martín Soto-Zarazúa

Agriculture 2023, 13(10), 2018; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/agriculture13102018 - 18 Oct 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 945

Abstract

Aquaculture waters can be associated with the modification of the phytochemical profile in plants when they are used for irrigation; thus, Integrated Agri-Aquaculture Systems such as aquaponics represent a strategy to improve the bioactive content of medicinal plants. This study aimed to analyze the effect caused by cultivation using aquaponics on the modification of the content of bioactive compounds such as phenols, flavonoids, and apigenin in Cuphea hyssopifolia and Cuphea cyanea irrigated with Cyprinus carpio waters. The results of each culture method showed unique differences (p ≤ 0.05) in the concentrations of bioactive compounds and antioxidant activity in Cuphea spp. For C. hyssopifolia in aquaponics, 76% (61.08 ± 7.2 mg g⁻¹ GAEq) of phenols and 50% (5.62 ± 0.5 mg g⁻¹ CAEq) of flavonoids were maintained compared to 20% (16.99 ± 0.4 mg g⁻¹ GAEq) of phenols and 76.5% (8.19 ± 1.6 mg g⁻¹ CAEq) of flavonoids in conventional culture. For C. cyanea in aquaponics, 91% (15.36 ± 0.8 mg g⁻¹ GAEq) of phenols and 47% (3.52 ± 0.6 mg g⁻¹ CAEq) of flavonoids were maintained compared to 24% (14.11 ± 1.3 mg g⁻¹ GAEq) of phenols and 82% (1.79 ± 0.1 mg g⁻¹ CAEq) of flavonoids in conventional culture. An increase of more than 60% in the apigenin content of C. hyssopifolia in aquaponics confirms a eustress effect related to the use of organically enriched waters. The results indicate that aquaponics can promote the biostimulation/elicitation of medicinal plants and increase their bioactive compounds, but this effect does not occur in the same way between species. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Abiotic Stresses, Biostimulant and Plant Activity—Series II)

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21 pages, 3429 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Description of Meteorological Indices Presented Based on Long-Term Yields of Winter Wheat in Southern Germany

by Kurt Heil, Christian Klöpfer, Kurt-Jürgen Hülsbergen and Urs Schmidhalter

Agriculture 2023, 13(10), 1904; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/agriculture13101904 - 28 Sep 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 770

Abstract

This study had three main objectives. First, weather indices were listed and their derivations were described to show which weather parameters could be used to describe the influence on agricultural yields. Second, farmers and agricultural scientists should be given the opportunity to evaluate the weather of the observation years in the study region. Furthermore, significant fluctuations in winter wheat yields were compared with weather events. As weather variables, 45 meteorological indices were used, such as precipitation-, temperature-, precipitation-temperature-, growing-period-, and radiation-related indices. In the case of winter wheat, heat waves and dry periods were the most important factors that affected the yields. For the past 20 years, in particular, there have been recurrent spring and summer months with low precipitation and, in some cases, significantly too warm periods, such as in 2003 and 2018 (April to October 2003: +16% °C, 2018: +27% °C, 2003: −38% mm, 2018: −12% mm in relation to 1978 to 2020), which were associated with particularly high yield losses. The qualitative assessments illustrate that in the observation period, years with reduced yield compared with the multiannual trend were frequently well explainable by extreme weather events. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Abiotic Stresses, Biostimulant and Plant Activity—Series II)

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15 pages, 3502 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Biosurfactants Mannosylerythritol Lipids (MELs) as Stimulant on the Germination of Lactuca sativa L.

by Renato Dias Matosinhos, Karina Cesca, Bruno Augusto Mattar Carciofi, Débora de Oliveira and Cristiano José de Andrade

Agriculture 2023, 13(9), 1646; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/agriculture13091646 - 22 Aug 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1051

Abstract

The application of pesticides in agriculture leads to improved crop quality and promotes high productivity. However, the uninterrupted use of these chemicals is directly related to environmental impacts, affecting biodiversity and the health of ecosystems and humans. In this sense, mannosylerythritol lipids (MELs) are a promising alternative, as they are biosurfactants with antimicrobial, amphiphilic characteristics, and low toxicity. Thus, in search of a partial reduction in the use of chemical pesticides in agriculture, this work aimed to evaluate the biostimulant effect of one of the homologs of MELs–MEL-B on the germination of Monica lettuce seeds (Lactuca sativa L.) and the influence on plant growth and root development. The seeds germinated in different concentrations of MEL-B. The incidence of germinated seeds, the germination index, and the average germination time were evaluated. MEL-B at 158 mg/L stimulated seed germination, growth, and seedling development parameters by 65%, while concentrations of 316 and 632 mg/L did not exceed 45% for these parameters. It was observed that MEL-B at 158 mg/L biostimulated the appearance of lateral roots and promoted only 7% of root stress, a difference of 47% for roots grown with MEL-B at 632 mg/L. Furthermore, MEL-B at 158 mg/L was the highest concentration at which there was no phytotoxic effect of MEL-B on seeds. The increase in enzymatic activity corroborates the phytotoxic effect and seed stress at concentrations of 316 and 632 mg/L, showing results of 47% and 54% of stressed roots. In an unprecedented way, this study proved that MEL-B has a biostimulant and phytotoxic effect related to its concentration. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Abiotic Stresses, Biostimulant and Plant Activity—Series II)

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28 pages, 4838 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Physiological and Molecular Analysis Revealed the Role of Silicon in Modulating Salinity Stress in Mung Bean

by Musa Al Murad and Sowbiya Muneer

Agriculture 2023, 13(8), 1493; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/agriculture13081493 - 27 Jul 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1151

Abstract

Salinity stress acts as a significant deterrent in the course of optimal plant growth and productivity, and mung bean, being a relay crop in the cereal cropping system, is severely affected by salinity. Silicon (Si), on the other hand, has exhibited promising outcomes with regards to alleviating salinity stress. In order to understand the critical mechanisms underlying mung bean (Vigna radiata L.) tolerance towards salt stress, this study examined the effects of different salinity concentrations on antioxidant capacity, proteome level alterations, and influence on Si-transporter and salt-responsive genes. Salinity stress was seen to effect the gaseous exchange machinery, decrease the soluble protein and phenolic content and NR activity, and increase the accumulation of reactive oxygen species. An efficient regulation of stomatal opening upon Si application hints towards proficient stomatal conductance and CO₂ fixation, resulting in efficient photosynthesis leading to proficient plant growth. The soluble protein and phenolic content showed improved levels upon Si supplementation, which indicates an optimal solute transport system from source to sink. The content of superoxide radicals showed a surge under salinity stress treatment, but efficient scavenging of superoxide radicles was noted under Si supplementation. Salinity stress exhibited more damaging effects on root NR activity, which was notably enhanced upon Si supplementation. Moreover, the beneficial role of Si was further substantiated as there was notable Si accumulation in the leaves and roots of salinity-stressed mung bean plants. Furthermore, Si stimulated competent ROS scavenging by reinforcing the antioxidant enzyme activity, as well coordinating with their isozyme activity, as expressed by the varying band intensities. Similarly, the Si-mediated increase in peroxidase activity may reveal changes in the mechanical characteristics of the cell wall, which are in turn associated with salinity stress adaptation. Proteomic investigations revealed the upregulation or downregulation of several proteins, which were thereafter identified by LC−MS/MS. About 45 proteins were identified and were functionally classified into photosynthesis (24%), metabolic process (19%), redox homeostasis (12%), transmembrane transport (10%), stress response (7%), and transcription regulation (4%). The gene expression analysis of the silicon transporter genes (Lsi1, Lsi2, and Lsi3) and SOS pathway genes (SOS1, SOS2, and SOS3) indicated the role of silicon in mitigating salinity stress. Hence, the findings of this study can facilitate a profound understanding of the potential mechanisms adopted by mung bean due to exogenous Si application during salinity stress. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Abiotic Stresses, Biostimulant and Plant Activity—Series II)

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13 pages, 1717 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Use of Bioinoculants Affects Variation in Snap Bean Yield Grown under Deficit Irrigation

by Giulio Flavio Rizzo, Nicolas Al Achkar, Simone Treccarichi, Giuseppe Malgioglio, Matteo Giuseppe Infurna, Sebastian Nigro, Alessandro Tribulato and Ferdinando Branca

Agriculture 2023, 13(4), 865; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/agriculture13040865 - 14 Apr 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1449

Abstract

The use of beneficial microorganisms, such as plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) and mycorrhizal fungi, for organic farming could improve the productivity and the resilience of vegetable crops. Both PGPR and PGPF are allowed for organic farming, and they represent new important tools for regenerating poor and marginal soils in transition to environmentally friendly farming. In the experiment, the effects of PGPM-based products were evaluated on snap bean in combination with two irrigation regimes. The experimental design adopted was split-plot, with the main plot represented by the irrigation regime (reintegration of 100 and 60% of the ETc), the sub-plot by the microbial consortia, and finally the sub-sub-plot by genotype (‘Domino’ and ‘Maxi’). Seeds were sown in a cold greenhouse and the growing cycle finished after 86 days from sowing. The results showed a significant increase of the yield due to the application of PGPM compared to the control. The deficit irrigation applied (ETc 60%) affected plants growth in the two genotypes and their related production differently (in average 2.20 kg m⁻² for Domino and 3.63 kg m⁻² for Maxi), showing a positive effect of PGPM on yield (in average 2.47 kg m⁻² without PGPM and 3.36 kg m⁻² with PGPM) and product quality. Furthermore, an interesting negative correlation between the number of nodules and the yield was also observed, as a consequence of their early outcome which increased plant productivity in relation to the experimental factors. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Abiotic Stresses, Biostimulant and Plant Activity—Series II)

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