Microbial Biostimulants: From the Lab to the Field for a New Agriculture 3.0

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue is the continuation of our previous special issues "Microbial Biostimulants: From the Lab to the Field for a New Agriculture" and "Microbial Biostimulants: From the Lab to the Field for a New Agriculture 2.0".

Plant biostimulants have been named under different terminologies for the past 30 years as a function of their variable modes of action. The most consensual and recent definition states that biostimulants are biological substances, micro-organisms, and mineral compounds which can be directly applied to plants, seeds, and soil in order to improve plant growth, increase crop yield, and reduce plant stress. Mostly used in agriculture as preventive agents, they act as plant growth stimulators and enhancers of resistance to biotic and abiotic stress.

This Special Issue aims to bring together a sample of very recent developments in microbial biostimulants for agriculture, on their way to the biofertilizer market or recently available to diverse agricultural production sectors, whether it be in horticulture, environmental and fruit arboriculture, viticulture, silviculture, or vegetable or crop production. The development of these innovating products has been based on chemistry, biochemistry, biotechnology, and microbiology applied to agriculture, taking into account the physiological, agricultural, and ecological constraints of plants. Finally, these plant microbial biostimulants must be effective at very low doses, while being ecologically friendly. They especially must produce a positive and reproducible effect on crops. Whether bacteria or fungi, these microorganisms that can be used as plant biostimulants and plant health promoters are part of a wide unknown microbial diversity, constituting the rhizospheric, epiphytic, or endophytic microbiota which are on the way to being domesticated. Their activities are also sustained by genetic interactions between plant and microbe species, which have yet to be elucidated, alongside their impacts on human and animal health.

Prof. Dr. Francois Lefort
Guest Editor

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• microorganisms
• plant biostimulants
• plant health promoters
• agricultural
• production
• biofertilizer