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The Studies on Plant Biostimulants to Improve Yields and Sustainability...
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The Studies on Plant Biostimulants to Improve Yields and Sustainability in Agriculture

A special issue of Agronomy (ISSN 2073-4395). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant-Crop Biology and Biochemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 January 2024) | Viewed by 5056

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Eszter Virag

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Metagenomics, University of Debrecen, Egyetem Square 1, 4032 Debrecen, Hungary
Interests: sustainable plant protection; development of plant biostimulants for organic farming; plant physiology and bioinformatics
Dr. Szilvia Veres

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences and Environmental Management, Department of Applied Plant Biology, University of Debrecen, H-4032 Debrecen, Hungary
Interests: plant physiology; eco-physiology; stress-physiology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In recent decades, the innovation of environmentally friendly plant biostimulants (PBs) plays a significant role in enhancing the sustainability of agricultural production systems. The development of these materials gains more and more attention focusing on plant growth, crop productivity, yield, biotic and abiotic stress tolerance, flowering, fruit quality, or nutrient use efficiency (NUE).

The main active agents of PBs, except for nutrients and pesticides, are vitamins or phytochemicals such as phytohormones, amino acids, and/or their derivatives that, when applied to plants, may reinforce the biochemical responses against various stresses and work as ‘metabolic enhancers’.

This Special Issue aims to publish high-quality research articles on the latest developments of PBs and their effects on cultivated plants with special attention to the reduced environmental impact on the ecosystems and human health, in addition to improving yield.

The purpose of the present Special Issue is to discuss a variety of currently relevant topics in agronomical sciences involving plant physiology, development, and genetics as implications of PBs applied for abiotic/biotic stresses tolerance, product quality enhancement, and NUE improvement. Investigations and specialized scientific works on the priming effect of PBs are also welcome in this Special Issue.

Dr. Eszter Virag
Dr. Szilvia Veres
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Agronomy is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • biostimulants
  • yield
  • sustainability
  • priming
  • plant defense
  • metagenomics
  • genomics
  • pathogens
  • bioinformatics
  • transcriptomics
  • stress responses

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 1684 KiB  
Article
Neodymium Nitrate Improves the Germination of Aged Wheat Seeds by Increasing Soluble Substances and Activating Antioxidative and Metabolic Enzymes in Seeds
by Genhai Hu, Xiuren Zhou, Qidi Zhu, Maoni Chao, Yuanzhi Fu and Haiyan Hu
Agronomy 2023, 13(9), 2370; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13092370 - 12 Sep 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1163
Abstract
Seeds stored for a prolonged period are subject to aging and a reduction in germination potential (GP), which will negatively affect seed sales. Rare-earth elements have a synergistic effect on the improvement of seed GP. In this study, we examined the effects of [...] Read more.
Seeds stored for a prolonged period are subject to aging and a reduction in germination potential (GP), which will negatively affect seed sales. Rare-earth elements have a synergistic effect on the improvement of seed GP. In this study, we examined the effects of neodymium on biochemical components, the antioxidant protective system, and metabolism-related enzymes during germination of naturally and artificially aged seeds of three wheat cultivars. Seed germination indices, biochemical substance contents, and enzyme activities decreased after seed aging. Soaking seeds in a neodymium nitrate solution revived aged wheat seeds at an optimal concentration of 20 µmol/L for 8 h. Soaking in a neodymium nitrate solution increased the GP4 (by 2.25–60.9%), germination index (by 1.69–29.2%), and vigor index (by 3.36–18.7%) of aged seeds. Compared with non-soaked seeds, soaking significantly changed the contents of biochemical substances, and the activities of antioxidant protective enzymes and metabolic enzymes in seedlings were increased. Soaking with neodymium may revive aged seeds by regulating the synthesis of soluble sugars, soluble proteins, chlorophyll, and carotenoids and decomposing malondialdehyde in the germinating seed. Root dehydrogenase and amylase showed different responses to the aging modes. The differential responses of root dehydrogenase and amylase may reflect differences in the resistance of enzymes to long-term mild seed aging and short-term severe environmental aging. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Studies on Plant Biostimulants to Improve Yields and Sustainability in Agriculture)
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12 pages, 2067 KiB  
Article
Effect of Phosphorylation Sites Mutations on the Subcellular Localization and Activity of AGPase Bt2 Subunit: Implications for Improved Starch Biosynthesis in Maize
by Guowu Yu, Noman Shoaib, Yang Yang, Lun Liu, Nishbah Mughal, Yuewei Mou and Yubi Huang
Agronomy 2023, 13(8), 2119; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13082119 - 13 Aug 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1491
Abstract
ADP-Glc pyrophosphorylase (AGPase) is a pivotal enzyme catalyzing the conversion of ATP and glucose-1-phosphate (Glc-1-P) to adenosine diphosphate glucose (ADP-Glc), thereby serving as a rate-limiting factor in starch biosynthesis in crops. Although previous investigations have suggested phosphorylation-based regulation of AGPase in maize, the [...] Read more.
ADP-Glc pyrophosphorylase (AGPase) is a pivotal enzyme catalyzing the conversion of ATP and glucose-1-phosphate (Glc-1-P) to adenosine diphosphate glucose (ADP-Glc), thereby serving as a rate-limiting factor in starch biosynthesis in crops. Although previous investigations have suggested phosphorylation-based regulation of AGPase in maize, the explicit modulation mechanisms have yet to be elucidated. This research evaluated the effect of point mutations at phosphorylation sites (identified using iTRAQTM AB SCIEX, Framingham, MA, USA) on the subcellular localization and activity of the AGPase small subunit Bt2, and its interaction with the large subunit Sh2, in maize. Despite the induction of point mutations, subcellular localization of the Bt2 subunit remained unaltered, primarily within the cytoplasm and nucleus. The interaction between Bt2 and Sh2 subunits continued, mainly in the chloroplast. Notably, an increase in AGPase activity was observed in the case of simulated phosphorylation point mutations, whereas dephosphorylation activity significantly diminished relative to the wild type. These findings demonstrate that point mutations do not affect the subcellular localization of the Bt2 subunit or its interaction with the Sh2 subunit, but substantially modulate AGPase activity. This study provides critical insights into the role of point mutations in enhancing AGPase activity, thus potentially accelerating the production of ADP-Glc, the primary substrate for starch synthesis, promising implications for improved starch biosynthesis in maize. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Studies on Plant Biostimulants to Improve Yields and Sustainability in Agriculture)
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20 pages, 3231 KiB  
Article
Biostimulants Improve Yield and Quality in Preharvest without Impinging on the Postharvest Quality of Hass Avocado and Mango Fruit: Evaluation under Organic and Traditional Systems
by Mariana Lucia Rojas-Rodríguez, Joaquín Guillermo Ramírez-Gil, Luis Felipe González-Concha and Helber Enrique Balaguera-López
Agronomy 2023, 13(7), 1917; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13071917 - 20 Jul 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1909
Abstract
The fruit agribusiness sector is one of the most dynamic in Colombia. Within this sector, avocado and mango are of great importance, both in terms of area planted and volume exported. Increasing the productivity, quality, and postharvest life of these fruits is a [...] Read more.
The fruit agribusiness sector is one of the most dynamic in Colombia. Within this sector, avocado and mango are of great importance, both in terms of area planted and volume exported. Increasing the productivity, quality, and postharvest life of these fruits is a priority, due to the high losses that occur in the preharvest and postharvest stages. One current alternative to achieve this are biostimulants, which have the potential to improve the productivity and quality of fruit. The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of the preharvest application of two biostimulants on the yield and quality of avocados and mangos. The study was carried out in production systems for cv. Hass avocado (traditional and organic) and cv. Keitt mango (traditional). In each system, two treatments were evaluated: conventional and conventional + biostimulant. Under field conditions, yield and quality variables such as weight, number of fruits, visual appearance, and size were determined. In postharvest, the fruits obtained from preharvest treatments were subjected to two storage conditions (6 and 20 °C) during the ripening process. Postharvest quality variables such as respiration, ethylene rates, weight loss, color index, firmness, total soluble solids, and titratable acidity were evaluated. The results indicated that the use of biostimulants caused a significant increase (p ≤ 0.05) in the yield, number of fruits, and preharvest quality parameters of size and weight, without negatively affecting the postharvest quality of the fruits. The biostimulant increases the total weight of fruits in organic and conventional avocado by ~55 and 25%, respectively, while in mango, this figure increased by ~23%. Hence, biostimulants can be utilized to increase the productivity of fruit trees. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Studies on Plant Biostimulants to Improve Yields and Sustainability in Agriculture)
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