Biostimulants are a novel category of agricultural chemicals that have grown dramatically over the past decade with a market value expected to exceed $5 Billion by 2025. While considerable efforts have been devoted to defining the mode of action of these materials, only a small subset of products currently on the market have provided definitive information on the bioactive compound/s or the physiological basis for product efficacy. The difficulty in defining the function of biostimulants derives in large part from incredible diversity of source materials which include soluble extracts of lignite deposits, seaweeds of origin across the globe, hydrolysates derived from plant and animal origin, mined and extracted minerals, live microbial populations and non-living extracts products derived from microbial fermentations, and synthesized organic molecules. The difficulty in identifying the function and utility of these materials is further complicated by the observation that many of these materials have beneficial effects only under certain environmental conditions or when a poorly characterized ‘plant stress’ event occurs. Given the diversity of source material and the complexity of the plant response it is clear that no unifying chemical or biological explanation for the mode of action of biostimulants is possible. Regardless of these uncertainties, the widespread adoption of these materials by the agro-chemical industry and by growers suggests that these products have a perceived benefit and there is a clear consensus that improved understanding of the biological mode of action and identification of the bioactive constituents is needed.  This presentation will provide an overview of current theories of the mode of action of biostimulants and provides insights into the integrated experimental approaches that will be needed to decipher the function and utility of this important class of products.

Biostimulants: Their function and effective use in modern agriculture

2019 Fall National Meeting

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