A Novel Biostimulant, Belonging to Protein Hydrolysates, Mitigates Abiotic Stress Effects on Maize Seedlings Grown in Hydroponics

Abstract

The main challenge to agriculture worldwide is feeding a rapidly growing human population, developing more sustainable agricultural practices that do not threaten human and ecosystem health. An innovative solution relies on the use of biostimulants, as a tool to enhance nutrient use ef\ufb01ciency and crop performances under sub-optimal conditions. In this work a novel biostimulant(APR\uae,ILSAS.p.A.,ArziganoVI,Italy), belongingtothegroupofproteinhydrolysates, wassuppliedtomaizeseedlingsinhydroponicanditseffectswereassessedincontrolconditionsand in the presence of three different kinds of stresses (hypoxia, salt and nutrient de\ufb01ciency) and of their combination. OurresultsindicatethatAPR\uae issolubleandisabletoin\ufb02uencerootandshootgrowth depending on its concentration. Furthermore, its effectiveness is clearly increased in condition of single or combination of abiotic stresses, thus con\ufb01rming the previously hypothesised action of this substance as enhancer of the response to environmental adversities. Moreover, it also regulates the transcription of a set of genes involved in nitrate transport and ROS metabolism. Further work will be needed to try to transfer this basic knowledge in \ufb01eld experiments