Biostimulant Formulations and Moringa oleifera Extracts to Improve Yield, Quality, and Storability of Hydroponic Lettuce

Abstract

The urgent need to increase the sustainability of crop production has pushed the agricultural sector towards the use of biostimulants based on natural products. The current work aimed to determine whether the preharvest application of two commercial formulations, based on a Fabaceae enzymatic hydrolysate or a blend of nitrogen sources including fulvic acids, and two lab-made aqueous extracts from Moringa oleifera leaves (MLEs), could improve yield, quality, and storability of lettuce grown in a hydroponic system, as compared to an untreated control. Lettuce plants treated with the MLEs showed significantly improved quality parameters (leaf number, area, and color), total phenolic content and antioxidant activity, and resistance against the fungal pathogen Botrytis cinerea, comparable to that obtained with commercial formulates, particularly those based on the protein hydrolysate. A difference between the M. oleifera extracts was observed, probably due to the different compositions. Although further large-scale trials are needed, the tested MLEs seem a promising safe and effective preharvest means to improve lettuce agronomic and quality parameters and decrease susceptibility to rots.

An Appraisal of Nonmicrobial Biostimulants’ Impact on the Productivity and Mineral Content of Wild Rocket (Diplotaxis tenuifolia (L.) DC.) Cultivated under Organic Conditions

“…Furthermore, references to the literature indicate the potential for wild rocket to be harvested up to five times, especially during the winter-spring period, while our study reported total production for only three harvests [16,30]. As shown in Figure 1, the application of biostimulants, regardless of their origin, significantly increased total yield, corroborating the findings of Caruso et al [33] for rocket and Hassan et al [34], Mannino et al [35], Carillo et al [36], and Admane et al [37] for various crops such as tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.), cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.), spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.), and lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.). Given the organic context of the experiment, the increase in total yield (+25.2% on average) is of greater significance.…”

Response of Yield, Quality, and Bioactive Constituents of Green Onion to Foliar Spraying with Moringa oleifera Leaf Extract and Yeast Extract

“…Moringa leaf extracts (MLE) (Moringa oleifera; family Moringaceae) in particular have shown significant improvements in various aspects of plant biology. These include the facilitation of seed germination, promotion of plant growth and yield, optimization of nutrient utilization efficiency, improvement of quality attributes, and augmentation of tolerance towards different stressors (Zulfiqar et al, 2020;Awad et al, 2022;Admane et al, 2023). MLE is a highly abundant source of phytohormones, polyphenols, sterols, ascorbates, vitamins, amino acids, and macro-and micro-elements (Latif and Mohamed, 2016;Admane et al, 2023;Arif et al, 2023).…”

“…These include the facilitation of seed germination, promotion of plant growth and yield, optimization of nutrient utilization efficiency, improvement of quality attributes, and augmentation of tolerance towards different stressors (Zulfiqar et al, 2020;Awad et al, 2022;Admane et al, 2023). MLE is a highly abundant source of phytohormones, polyphenols, sterols, ascorbates, vitamins, amino acids, and macro-and micro-elements (Latif and Mohamed, 2016;Admane et al, 2023;Arif et al, 2023). The chemical composition of moringa leaves exhibits variability based on geographic origin and growing system.…”

Evaluation of the Effect of Biostimulation on the Yielding of Golden Delicious Apple Trees

“…The use of biostimulants is considered a good practice to reduce fertilizers and other chemicals, resulting in less environmental damage and is part of sustainable agricultural development [9]. Biostimulants manufactured from raw materials of natural origin, which are based on, among other things, seaweed extracts, micro-organisms, humic acids and protein hydrolysates [12,13], are considered to be environmentally friendly, which is particularly important in sustainable plant cultivation [14].…”

“…Their composition includes polyphenolic compounds, minerals, polysaccharides, amino acids, phlorotannins, lipids, proteins, oxylipins, plant growth hormones, sterols, fatty acids and carotenoids [16,17]. Seaweeds from three clusters: Phaeophyceae, Rhodophytai, and Chlorophyta [14], are used for commercial agricultural purposes. Among brown seaweeds used for biostimulants, Ascophyllum nodosum (L.) is the best-studied species [18].…”