Plant sensors untangle the water-use and growth effects of selected seaweed-derived biostimulants on drought-stressed tomato plants (Solanum lycopersicum)
Top, S.; Vandoorne, B.; Pauwels, E.; Perneel, M.; Van Labeke, M.-C.; Steppe, K. (2023). Plant sensors untangle the water-use and growth effects of selected seaweed-derived biostimulants on drought-stressed tomato plants (Solanum lycopersicum). Journal of Plant Growth Regulation 42: 5615-5627. https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00344-023-10941-0
In: Journal of Plant Growth Regulation. Springer: New York. ISSN 0721-7595; e-ISSN 1435-8107, meer
Drought has become an increasing problem in agriculture in recent years with fresh water becoming a scarce resource. One of the solutions to potentially alleviate detrimental effects of drought is the use of commercial seaweed-based biostimulants. The aim was to better understand their effects. Tomato plants (Solanum lycopersicum L.) were grown in soil under drought stress conditions with a 40% reduction in irrigation compared to control plants in 2020, and a 67% reduction in 2021. Plant responses to (i) drought stress, and (ii) a combination of drought stress and application of four selected seaweed biostimulants were continuously measured with sap flow and stem diameter variation sensors and compared to well-watered plants in each year. No differences were observed in overall yield and fruit size between treatments, indicating a potential water saving of at least 40% as confirmed by the sap flow measurements. Although no differences were observed in yield, some of the tested biostimulants did impact plant functioning. The Ascophyllum nodosum-based biostimulant resulted in water uptake during drought comparable to well-watered control plants, whilst the Saccharina latissimi-based biostimulant resulted in significantly lower water uptake than stressed control plants but with comparable yield as well-watered plants, increasing plant water-use efficiency. Therefore the recommendation is to use plant sensors for future objective quantification of water use and growth effects of featured biostimulants, and as part of the experiments to unravel modes of action of different biostimulants in crops.
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