Biostimulants Improve Plant Growth and Bioactive Compounds of Young Olive Trees under Abiotic Stress Conditions

Giulia Graziani, Aurora Cirillo, Paola Giannini, Stefano Conti, Christophe El-Nakhel, Youssef Rouphael, Alberto Ritieni and Claudio Di Vaio
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Giulia Graziani: Department of Pharmacy, University of Naples Federico II, Via Domenico Montesano 49, 80131 Naples, Italy
Aurora Cirillo: Department of Agricultural Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, Via Università 100, 80055 Portici, Italy
Paola Giannini: Department of Pharmacy, University of Naples Federico II, Via Domenico Montesano 49, 80131 Naples, Italy
Stefano Conti: Department of Agricultural Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, Via Università 100, 80055 Portici, Italy
Christophe El-Nakhel: Department of Agricultural Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, Via Università 100, 80055 Portici, Italy
Youssef Rouphael: Department of Agricultural Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, Via Università 100, 80055 Portici, Italy
Alberto Ritieni: Department of Pharmacy, University of Naples Federico II, Via Domenico Montesano 49, 80131 Naples, Italy
Claudio Di Vaio: Department of Agricultural Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, Via Università 100, 80055 Portici, Italy

Agriculture, 2022, vol. 12, issue 2, 1-18

Abstract: The negative impacts of extreme heat and drought on olive plants have driven the quest for mitigation approaches based on the use of biostimulants, which have proved to be effective in contrasting environmental stresses. The aim of our study was to evaluate the effectiveness of six biostimulants in mitigating high temperature and water stress in young olive trees in terms of vegetative and eco-physiological parameters as well as bioactive compound content. Biostimulants based on glycine betaine and macro- and micro-algae effectively protected the plants from abiotic stress by improving their eco-physiological and vegetative parameters. At the end of the growing season, olive plants were experiencing water deficit which had built up through the summer months. At this time, the glycine betaine-treated plants had a three-fold higher stomatal conductance compared with the control, while plants sprayed with the seaweed mix had a relative water content 33% higher than the control. The kaolin treatment resulted in higher total phenolics and antioxidant activities (DPPH, FRAP and ABTS) in water stress conditions and caused an increase of 238.53 and 443.49% in leaves total polyphenols content in 100% and 50% water regime, respectively. This study showed the effectiveness of biostimulants in mitigating the damage from abiotic stress on young olive trees, by improving some vegetative, eco-physiological and leaf nutraceutical parameters. Further studies are needed to test the efficiency of these biostimulants in open field conditions on olive trees in full production.

Keywords: Olea europaea L.; Trichoderma; Ascophyllum nodosum; Laminaria digitata; pinolene; phenolic profile; high resolution mass spectrometry; antioxidant activity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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