Cultivating Tomorrow: A Review on Biostimulants and Their Transformative Role in Agriculture

• Published in: Journal of advances in biology & biotechnology Vol. 27; no. 8; pp. 906 - 919
• Main Authors: S, Senthilkumar, Kuppusamy, Senthil, M, Baskar, KR, Vijayalatha, R, Jayavalli, S, Nithila, K, Sujatha, Palai, Santwana
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 02.08.2024
• ISSN: 2394-1081; 2394-1081
• DOI: 10.9734/jabb/2024/v27i81211

The need to feed a world population that is expanding, soil deterioration, and climate change are all serious difficulties for agriculture. Seaweed extracts, humic materials, and microbial cultures are among the natural sources of biostimulants, a family of compounds that provide a revolutionary means of augmenting plant growth and resistance. Biostimulants, as opposed to conventional fertilizers and insecticides, enhance nutrient uptake, promote stress tolerance, and stimulate natural processes to improve plant health. The various forms of biostimulants, such as amino acids, protein hydrolysates, seaweed extracts, and advantageous microbes and fungi, are examined in this review. It explores various modes of action, including enhanced interactions with the soil microbiome, hormone modulation, and antioxidant activities.  Biostimulants provide a wide range of potential advantages, including higher crop yields, better resilience to environmental stresses, and a decreased need for chemical inputs, all of which support more environmentally friendly farming methods. The need for environmentally sustainable agricultural solutions is driving a sharp increase in the usage of biostimulants, according to market trends. Sales are expected to exceed 2 billion globally by 2018, thus farmers will likely embrace them more widely as they look for more affordable and ecologically friendly options. Standardizing biostimulant chemicals and comprehending their intricate interactions across many agricultural systems, however, continue to provide difficulties. This review attempts to give a thorough summary of the state of biostimulant research as it stands today, emphasizing significant discoveries, innovations in technology, and potential paths forward. This study highlights the potential of biostimulants to transform contemporary agriculture and make it more robust, sustainable, and able to meet the demands of global food security by promoting a deeper understanding of them.