Salinity is one of the environmental factors inhibiting productivity in crop plants. Available strategies to mitigate the abiotic stresses are limited. Microalgae and cyanobacteria can mitigate the adverse effects of abiotic stress due to their biostimulant properties. The aim of this work was to study the effect of hydrolysate of the ciyanobacterium Arthrospira platensis on the growth of Petunia plants under salt stress conditions over two growing seasons (winter and spring). Plants were exposed to 2.0, 2.5, and 3.0 dS m −1 EC, with and without application of A. platensis hydrolysate. At the end of the trial, biometric parameters and plant analysis were determined. Petunias had a negative response when the salinity level rose from 2 to 3 dS m −1 and exhibited moderate tolerance to high internal Na and Cl concentrations. Results show that a high salinity reduces the Ca, Mg, K, and S contents in the leaves and provokes a sharp reduction in the K + /Na + relationship. Applying A. platensis hydrolysate alleviates the effects of NaCl stress and stimulates shoot and bud formation in the petunia mother plant while inducing flowering in commercial Petunia plants. The A. platensis hydrolysate application increased the K + /Na + relationship in treatments with an EC of 3.0 dS m −1 .
The extraction method used to obtain biologically active compounds from microalgal biomass may affect the biostimulant capacity of the microalgae. The objective of this assay was to determine the most efficient extraction method to release the active components of the biomass of Chlorella vulgaris (C. vulgaris). Plantlets of Pelargonium × hortorum were grown in a greenhouse and five treatments were applied: C-application with water; M-application with untreated C. vulgaris microalgae; M-US-application with C. vulgaris microalgae treated with ultrasound; M-USHY-application with C. vulgaris microalgae treated with ultrasound and enzymatic hydrolysis; and M-USHYAU-application with C. vulgaris microalgae treated with ultrasound, enzymatic hydrolysis, and autoclaving. All microalgae treatments increased shoot number and stem and plant diameter. The US-treated biomass increased the inflorescence of the plant significantly compared to the control. To extract bioactive compounds from eukaryotic microalgae for plant biostimulating purposes, the US-treatment (or any other method damaging the plasma membrane) of microalgae cell is, or seems to be, suitable.. Macronutrient content in leaves was not affected by the microalgae treatment, except for K.
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