Título: Enhanced Growth of Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) Through Amino Acids and Seaweed Extracts for the Use in Organic Agriculture
Autor/es: García-Cano, Cristina; Ferrández-Gómez, Borja; Jordá Guijarro, Juana Dolores; Pablo, Óscar; Cerdán, Mar; Sanchez Sanchez, Antonio
Resumen: The increasing consumer interest in organic products is driving the rise of the agricultural sector. However, organic farming productivity was lower than conventional due to the reduction of external inputs, synthetic fertilizers, and pesticides. In this context, the use of organic biostimulant emerged as a promising solution. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of three doses (0.1, 0.2, 0.3 mL per plant) of an innovative organic biostimulant based on amino acids and seaweed extract (Lombrico® ARREL), on cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) under hydroponic conditions in a plant growth chamber. The results demonstrated that the root application of the biostimulant promoted plant growth development. In the shoot, there was an increase in height, number of leaves, fresh and dry weight and leaf area compared to the control. In the root, there was an increase in volume (66.2, 83.2, and 165%), fresh weight (45.0, 61.0 and 97.3%) and dry weight (7.0, 23.0 and 53.7%) as escalating the product dose (low, medium and high, respectively) compared to the control. Furthermore, the root length decreased, triggering a significant modification of the root system architecture. Transcriptome analysis in the root revelated that this biostimulant induced change in the gene expression. Gene ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEEG) analysis showed stimulation of the cell division, biosynthesis and remodeling of the cell wall, increasing plant metabolism and hormone signal transduction, as well as activating the phenylpropanoid biosynthesis. This study showed the benefit of integrating the biostimulant uses in organic agriculture management to improve plant development, thereby enhancing crop productivity.
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