59 research outputs found
A multi-attribute approach to evaluating the impact of biostimulants on crop performance.
An ever-growing collection of commercial biostimulants is becoming available in a wide variety of forms and compositions to improve crop performance. Given the intricate nature of deciphering the underlying mechanisms of commercial products, which typically comprise various biological components, it is crucial for research in this area to have robust tools to demonstrate their effectiveness in field trials. Here, we took a multi-attribute approach to evaluating the impact of biostimulants on crop performance. First, we assessed the impact of a biostimulant on the soil and rhizosphere microbiomes associated to crops in eight reference farms, including corn (3 farms), soybean (2), cotton (2) and sugarcane (1), in different biomes and production contexts in Brazil and Paraguay. Second, we modeled a set of integrated indicators to measure crop responses to biostimulant application, including five analytical themes as follows: i) crop development and production (9 indicators), ii) soil chemistry (9), iii) soil physics (5), iv) soil biology (6) and v) plant health (10). Amplicon 16S rRNA and ITS sequencing revealed that the use of the biostimulant consistently changes the structure of bacterial and fungal communities associated with the production system for all evaluated crops. In the rhizosphere samples, the most responsive bacterial taxa to biostimulant application were Prevotella in cotton; Prauserella and Methylovirgula in corn; and Methylocapsa in sugar cane. The most responsive fungal taxa to biostimulant use were Arachnomyces in soybean and cotton; and Rhizophlyctis in corn. The proposed integrated indicators yielded highly favorable positive impact indices (averaging at 0.80), indicating that biostimulant-treated fields correlate with better plant development and crop performance. Prominent indices were observed for indicators in four themes: soil biology (average index 0.84), crop production (0.81), soil physics (compaction reduction 0.81), and chemical fertility (0.75). The multi-attribute approach employed in this study offers an effective strategy for assessing the efficacy of biostimulant products across a wide range of crops and production systems
Soil carbon and nitrogen stocks in traditional agricultural and agroforestry systems in the semiarid region of Brazil
Estoque de carbono em sistemas agrossilvopastoril, pastagem e eucalipto sob cultivo convencional na região noroeste do Estado de Minas Gerais
Potencial de recuperação física de um latossolo vermelho, sob pastagem degradada, influenciado pela aplicação de cama de frango
Estoques de carbono e nitrogênio e frações orgânicas de Latossolo submetido a diferentes sistemas de uso e manejo
Atributos físicos e teor de matéria orgânica na camada superficial de um argissolo vermelho cultivado com mandioca sob diferentes manejos
Matéria orgânica, infiltração e imagens tomográficas de Latossolo em recuperação sob diferentes tipos de manejo
Resíduos orgânicos como recondicionante de subsolo degradado e efeitos na atividade microbiana e fertilidade em cultivo de barbatimão
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