Agricultural uses of plant biostimulants

• Published in: Plant and soil Vol. 383; no. 1-2; pp. 3 - 41
• Main Authors: Calvo, Pamela, Nelson, Louise, Kloepper, Joseph W
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer-Verlag 01.10.2014; Springer; Springer International Publishing; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Acid soils; Agricultural chemicals; Agricultural soils; Agriculture; Agronomy. Soil science and plant productions; Algae; Amino acids; Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Biological and medical sciences; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Chemical, physicochemical, biochemical and biological properties; Corn; Drought; Ecology; Flowers & plants; Fulvic acids; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; General agronomy. Plant production; Humic acids; Life Sciences; markets; MARSCHNER REVIEW; Microorganisms; Nutrient uptake; Orchard soils; Organic matter; Physics, chemistry, biochemistry and biology of agricultural and forest soils; plant extracts; Plant growth; Plant growth regulators; Plant Physiology; plant response; Plant roots; Plant Sciences; Plant species; Plants; protein hydrolysates; root growth; Seaweeds; Soil science; Soil Science & Conservation; Soil-plant relationships. Soil fertility; Soil-plant relationships. Soil fertility. Fertilization. Amendments; Stimulants; stress tolerance; Seaweed extracts; Protein hydrolysates; Biostimulants; Amino acids; Fulvic acid; Microbial inoculants; Humic acid; Organic matter; Biochemical compound; Biostimulation; Biostimulant; Extract; Organic acids; Protein; Inoculation; Humus; Hydrolysate; Aminoacid; Humic substance; Agriculture; Alga; Microorganism; Inoculant; Soil plant relation
• ISSN: 0032-079X; 1573-5036
• DOI: 10.1007/s11104-014-2131-8

BACKGROUND: Plant biostimulants are diverse substances and microorganisms used to enhance plant growth. The global market for biostimulants is projected to increase 12 % per year and reach over $2,200 million by 2018. Despite the growing use of biostimulants in agriculture, many in the scientific community consider biostimulants to be lacking peer-reviewed scientific evaluation. SCOPE: This article describes the emerging definitions of biostimulants and reviews the literature on five categories of biostimulants: i. microbial inoculants, ii. humic acids, iii. fulvic acids, iv. protein hydrolysates and amino acids, and v. seaweed extracts. CONCLUSIONS: The large number of publications cited for each category of biostimulants demonstrates that there is growing scientific evidence supporting the use of biostimulants as agricultural inputs on diverse plant species. The cited literature also reveals some commonalities in plant responses to different biostimulants, such as increased root growth, enhanced nutrient uptake, and stress tolerance.