Biostimulants are increasingly used to improve growth performance and stress tolerance in crop plants. Thereby they have the potential to reduce the use of pesticides and fertilizers so that environmental impacts of farming may be diminished.
In a screen for biostimulant prototypes, researchers applied compounds to maize and soybean plants and analyzed the phenotypic responses after application. Using a LemnaTec PhenoAIxpert HT-type plant phenotyping system, visible light and fluorescence images of maize and soybean plants were taken to assess the effects of the biostimulant compounds. The visible light images were analyzed to assess the growth and development of the plants. Thereby, digital biomass and surface colors were determined. A stress index was derived from the fluorescence images and chlorophyll fluorescence intensity was taken as stress indicator.
All tested candidate compounds led to increased digital biomass in maize and soybean compared to untreated plants. Moreover, treated plants had higer intensities of green over time, while untreated plants became pale green and yellowed at late time points. This indicated that the treatments delayed senescence and promoted plant growth. One of the compounds led to a reduction in the stress index.
Together with molecular data, the phentypic study showed that biostimulat treatment has the potential to improve crop growth and development, and potentially can reduce plant stress.