Seaweed extracts and soil microbes help crops survive tough conditions
Alam P, Nazneen S, Azra BH, Albalawi T, Ahmad S
Soil Health
The kelp meal or fish emulsion you might already spray on tomatoes taps into the same biology this review explains: beneficial microbes and plant extracts that prime roots to cope with drought and poor soil rather than just feeding them.
Biostimulants are natural products, seaweed extracts, humic acid, chitosan, amino acids, or beneficial soil microbes, that help plants grow stronger and tolerate stress without acting like fertilizer or pesticide. Instead they nudge the plant's own biology: better root growth, hormone balance, antioxidant defenses, and partnerships with helpful bacteria and fungi that fix nitrogen, unlock minerals, and fend off disease. The tricky part is that these products don't always work the same way twice, since field conditions, formulation, and regulations still limit how reliably farmers and gardeners can count on them.
Key Findings
Plant-derived biostimulants (seaweed extracts, humic substances, protein hydrolysates, amino acids, chitosan) improve nutrient uptake, root architecture, and antioxidant defenses
Microbial biostimulants like PGPR, mycorrhizal fungi, endophytes, and cyanobacteria fix nitrogen, solubilize minerals, produce hormones, and help plants tolerate drought, salinity, heat, and heavy metals
Widespread adoption is still limited by inconsistent field performance, unstable formulations, and gaps in regulatory frameworks and mechanistic understanding
chevron_right Technical Summary
This review pulls together decades of research on biostimulants, natural substances and beneficial microbes that help crops handle drought, heat, salty soil, and pollution without acting as fertilizers or pesticides. The catch: they work great in the lab but perform unevenly in real fields, so scientists are pushing for better formulas and more precise application.
Abstract Preview
Original paper
Plant-derived and microbial biostimulants in sustainable agriculture: mechanisms, applications, and challenges.
Plant biostimulants have emerged as transformative and sustainable tools for improving crop productivity, resource-use efficiency, and resilience under rapidly intensifying environmental stresses. ...
open_in_new Read full abstractAbstract copyright held by the original publisher.
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