Effects of Plant-Based Biostimulants, Used Alone or in Combination, on Yield and Quality of Rocket Plants ^†

Abstract

The climatic conditions over the last few decades were estimated to be the warmest of any previous decade using the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Climate change refers to anomalous, intense, and catastrophic climatic events directly linked to an increase in temperature on Earth. These include hurricanes, floods, melting glaciers, etc. In this context, agriculture is subject to strong abiotic stresses that compromise food safety. It is therefore necessary to resort to agricultural practices that reduce the impact of agriculture on the environment and guarantee crop production. An important answer to this problem comes from the use of biostimulants in agriculture. These are microorganisms and molecules of natural origin able to increase fertilizer effectiveness by limiting their use. In this study, two different plant-based biostimulants were used alone and in combination to test their effectiveness on production, mineral content, and some quality parameters of greenhouse-grown rocket plants. Biostimulant treatments showed an average increase of 48.1% in the total yield and of 37.2% in the dry biomass of the plants compared with control plants without significant differences among treatments. Increases in chlorophyll, calcium, magnesium, and potassium were also detected in the presence of the two biostimulants. The vitamin C content increased compared with the control when the two biostimulants were combined. This study focused on biostimulants as eco-sustainable products able to increase the yield and quality of crops such as rocket plants.