Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The growing need for food production through sustainable cultivation practices, without reducing crop yield and producer income, is a major objective due to increased environmental pollution and the gradual degradation of cultivated soils. Various compounds with bioactive properties can be utilized as biostimulants to boost plant growth and development under normal and stressful conditions. So far, six distinct categories of biostimulants have been recognized, including microbial inoculants; humic substances, such as humic and fulvic acids; protein hydrolysates and amino acids; biopolymers; inorganic compounds; and seaweed extracts, all of which are commercially available with wide applications in agriculture. The most important biostimulant effects on crops are the acceleration of crop establishment, the improvement in nutrient uptake and nutrients use efficiency, the induction of tolerance to biotic and abiotic stressors, the improvement in seed germination, the increase in shelf life of perishable products, the reduction in nutrients leaching, the improvement in root development, the removal of heavy metals from contaminated soils, the improvement in crop performance, the stimulation of the immune system of plants, the improvement in visual quality of final products, and the induction of the biosynthesis of plant defensive biomolecules. Different classification approaches have been suggested so far, based either on the origin of each biostimulant, such as biological or non-biological, microbial and non-microbial, or on the mode of action which divides biostimulants into phytohormonal and non-phytohormonal ones.
This Special Issue focuses on the roles and functions of different types of biostimulants on different agricultural and horticultural crops within the framework of sustainable crop management, aiming to gather critical and important information regarding their positive effects on plant growth and final yield, as well as their impacts on the quality of the final product. Furthermore, the major limitations of these practices as well as the future prospects of biostimulant studies will be presented.
Keywords= biostimulants; chitosan; arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi; amino acids; organic farming; vegetable crops; horticultural crops; microbial biostimulants
**Dr. Mohamad Hesam Shahrajabian
(Guest Editor
Biotechnology Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China Interests: organic agriculture; crops; biostimulants; horticulture; forage crops; soil science; sustainable agriculture)
**Prof. Dr. Spyridon A. Petropoulos
(Guest Editor
Department of Agriculture, Crop Production and Rural Environment, University of Thessaly, 38446 Volos, Greece Interests: organic agriculture; agrobiodiversity; vegetable crops; biostimulants; horticulture; fruit quality; wild edible species; essential oils; medicinal and aromatic plants; stress physiology; bioactve compounds Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals)
https://www.mdpi.com/journal/plants/special_issues/44FK72777L
https://www.mdpi.com/journal/plants/special_issues/44FK72777L
Special Issue "Plant Biostimulants in Sustainable Horticulture and Agriculture: Development, Function, and Applications" A special issue of Plants (I
Dear, Dr. M. Hesam Shahrajabian
I am very grateful for the efforts of you researchers in the production of natural products.
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