Growth of strawberry and sweet potatoes under bioestimulants application

Abstract

In agriculture, the demand for alternatives to increase agricultural production in a sustainable way has become of great interest, due to the fact of dependence on chemical fertilizers used in food production. For this, other methods such as biostimulants that are substances or microorganisms applied to plants have the ability to positively affect vital processes, increasing nutritional efficiency, improving the quality characteristics of the crop regardless of its nutrient content such as strawberry and potato sweet. Biostimulants are a promising alternative with potential for application in agricultural production, especially growth-promoting bacteria, humic acid and diatomaceous earth because they have the ability to stimulate plant growth. Thus, the objective was to evaluate the potential of biostimulants in the growth of strawberry and sweet potato as a growth promoter. For this purpose, in vitro and greenhouse tests were performed on strawberry and sweet potato crops. Biostimulants (growth-promoting bacteria such as Azospirillum brasilense, Pantoea ananatis and Paenibacillus favisporus and humic acid) were evaluated for their ability to promote plant growth in strawberry. Phytotechnical, nutritional, physiological data (IRGA / infrared gas analyzer) and anatomical changes in plants were collected. In the second test, the frequency of application of Azospirillum brasilense on strawberry in relation to the effect of the plants' growth capacity was evaluated. In the third and fourth trial, the effect of diatomaceous earth on in vitro cultivation and sweet potato acclimatization on plant growth, physiology and anatomy were evaluated. The biostimulants were able to stimulate greater effects on growth, accumulation of nutrients, anatomy, physiology, showing that it is possible to combine bacterial inoculants with humic acid, obtaining better responses than the isolated application of both. It is concluded that the evaluated biostimulants have potential for application as growth promoters in strawberry and sweet potato crops, and their effects include growth, changes in leaf anatomy, physiological and nutrient accumulation by plants.