Biostimulants, all you wanted to know
“Biostimulants” refers to different groups of natural substances, known for the fact that a relatively small amount of them is enough to improve, enhance, and accelerate natural metabolic processes in the soil and plant tissue. Biostimulants include materials of organic origin –plant-based or animal-based, various minerals, bacteria, and fungi.” In modern agriculture, these substances are increasingly used through unique organic fertilizers designed to improve soil fertility, enhance mineral uptake, and protect against stress conditions.
Adding biostimulants to every fertilization plan enhances the plant’s ability to cope with various stress conditions such as heat, drought, soil salinity, increased pest and disease pressure, and more – thus contributing to achieving better harvests. The mechanisms of action of biostimulants are highly complex and include effects on soil particle structure, metabolism of soil microorganisms, behavior of harmful soil organisms (fungi and nematodes), and more. A noteworthy study in this regard found that the application of plant-derived biostimulants through fertigation or spraying led to the acceleration of metabolic processes occurring within the plant cell nucleus within just a few hours. This resulted in increased production of RNA segments and, consequently, enhanced cell division processes.
It is now customary to divide biostimulants into several groups. The classification is derived from the active ingredients in the products, their mechanisms of action, and sites of influence. The important ones are as follows:
Humic and fulvic acids
Materials that constitute natural components of soils, usually the advanced decomposition products of organic matter from various sources, as well as products of metabolic processes of soil organisms. These materials have a complex structure, and their main effect is on the colloidal structure of the soil and its ability to absorb minerals and efficiently transfer them to plants. Humic acid preparations are usually produced by dissolving fossilized organic matter (coal, lignite) using strong bases. Despite the name of these preparations, their reaction is usually basic. Effective use of these products to increase crops requires adequate interaction between soil structure, soil organisms and plant roots.
Protein and amino acid extracts
These are protein substances usually derived from the hydrolysis of protein-rich byproducts in the food industry. They usually contain basic fertilization elements (N-P-K) as well as microelements. The mechanisms of their effect on plants are related to their mineral content as well as their amino acids and fatty acids profiles. These extracts are known to influence various hormones in the plant, responsible for regulating metabolic processes such as nitrogen absorption in the roots, opening/closing of leaf stomata, and regulation of the carbon/nitrogen ratio in plant synthesis processes. The application of these preparations to plants usually contributes to accelerating growth and fruit maturation processes.
Beneficial bacteria and fungi
In nature, many species of fungi and bacteria are known to have symbiotic relationships with plant roots. Most higher plants in the natural environment are likely to have symbiotic relationships with one or more species of microorganisms. The symbiosis between plants of the legume family and nitrogen-fixing bacteria (rhizobia) is a well-known example of this type of relationship. The past two decades have seen a growing prevalence of beneficial microorganism products for agriculture, symbiotic fungal products (mycorrhizal) (crop-specific and general), and more. The commercial success of such products in increasing yields depends largely on various naturally occurring microorganism populations in the soil and the microbial preparation’s interaction with this natural population.
Algae and plant extracts
The use of algae and plant extracts has been known and accepted in agriculture since ancient times. These extracts are rich in polysaccharides, sterols, antioxidants, plant hormones, and substances that simulate such hormones. There is quite a wide variety of algae and plant-based products derived from parent plants: brown algae, green or red algae, and many different plants. These extracts are known to have varied effects on soil structure and its ability to absorb water and minerals, vitality of beneficial soil organisms, suppression of harmful organisms, and on the modulation of growth and flowering processes. These extracts affect the hormonal mechanisms of plants by stimulating and modulating their activity. The intensity of the plant’s response to these substances is not dependent on the quantity of the active material applied, but rather on the precision of the application.
VGI company is one of the pioneers in the field of biostimulants in Israel and worldwide. The development of the company’s preparations began in the 1970s, with the aim of finding soluble nutrient solutions that would be effective for plants grown in conditions of high temperatures and poor soils. The company’s products consist of a combination of plant extracts, algae extracts, amino acid concentrates, and various binding agents from natural and organic sources. This unique combination of ingredients gives VGI preparations a very wide range of action, and influence on a variety of sites and processes in plants, as well as soil organisms and soil structure. The broad range of action makes the products effective for all types of plants, in almost any cultivation system and soil type. Numerous field trials and observations conducted with these preparations have proven their effectiveness in improving both the quantity and quality of yields in a wide range of agricultural and ornamental crops.