Water management remains one of the most important issues facing the horticulture, turfgrass and agricultural industries today.  As the world supply of potable water declines and/or becomes more expensive, and with climate change expected to make it hotter, globally, practitioners, scientists and growers must assess alternate strategies to improve plant performance under water deficit conditions.<br/>Our objective was to evaluate our novel, naturally occurring compound (biostimulant) to improve turfgrass, ornamentals, forage crops and seedlings performance under several drought stress and non-drought conditions.  Greenhouse trials were conducted in 2016 and 2017, and field trials were conducted in 2017 and 2018.  Drought and non-drought conditions were tested in the greenhouse with 75% water savings vs. control (water only) and 70 days of drought tolerance (no water) with no loss of visual quality.  Moderate drought (75% ETos) and severe drought (50% ETos) conditions were tested in the field with positive results vs. controls.  Response variables included total water applied, % water savings vs. control, Volumetric Water Content (VWC), visual quality score, visual hydration score, and hydrophobicity assessment (water droplet penetration test).  Our novel biostimulant has a significant effect on water savings and drought tolerance across several species, and even under severe drought conditions, can keep turfgrass visually looking green and industry acceptable.  While the results from these trials were encouraging for turfgrass and other plants, additional research is needed to determine the effect on specialty and row crops.

Skincare meets agriculture: Cross-over idea creates a novel, water-saving biostimulant with field results presented

2019 Fall National Meeting

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