Impact of Seaweed Liquid Extract Biostimulant on Growth, Yield, and Chemical Composition of Cucumber ( Cucumis sativus )

Shimaa M. Hassan, Mohamed Ashour, Nobumitsu Sakai, Lixin Zhang, Hesham A. Hassanien, Ahmed Gaber and Gamal Ammar
Additional contact information
Shimaa M. Hassan: Department of Vegetable crops, Faculty of Agriculture (El-Shatby), Alexandria University, Alexandria 21545, Egypt
Mohamed Ashour: National Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries, NIOF, Cairo 11516, Egypt
Nobumitsu Sakai: The Niva Labs13171 Telfair Ave, Suite B, Sylmar, CA 91342, USA
Lixin Zhang: Researcher, College of Life Sciences, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China
Hesham A. Hassanien: Animal and fish Production Department, College of Agricultural and Food Sciences, King Faisal University, P.O. Box 420, Al-Ahsa 31982, Saudi Arabia
Ahmed Gaber: Department of Biology, College of Science, Taif University, P.O. Box 11099, Taif 21944, Saudi Arabia
Gamal Ammar: Biotechnology Unit., Plant Production Department, Arid Lands Cultivation Research Institute, City of Scientific Research and Technological Applications, Alexandria 2193, Egypt

Agriculture, 2021, vol. 11, issue 4, 1-16

Abstract: Seaweed extract biostimulants are among the best modern sustainable biological plant growth promoters. They have been proven to eliminate plant diseases and abiotic stresses, leading to maximizing yields. Additionally, they have been listed as environmentally friendly biofertilizers. The focus of the present research is the use of a commercial seaweed biostimulant as an eco-friendly product (formally named True Algae Max (TAM). During the 2017 and 2018 seasons, five treatments of various NPK:TAM ratios were applied via regular fertigation, namely a conventional treatment of 100% NPK (C 0 ) alongside combinations of 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100% (C 25 , C 50 , C 75 , and C 100 ) of TAM, to evaluate the effectiveness of its bioactive compounds on enhancing growth, yield, and NPK content of cucumber ( Cucumis sativus ) under greenhouse conditions. TAM is rich in phytochemical compounds, such as milbemycin oxime, rhodopin, nonadecane, and 5-silaspiro [4.4]nona-1,3,6,8-tetraene,3,8-bis(diethylboryl)-2,7-diethyl-1,4,6,9-tetraphenyl-. Promising measured parameter outcomes showed the potentiality of applying TAM with and without mixes of ordinary NPK application. TAM could increase cucumber yield due to improving chemical and physical features related to immunity, productivity, and stress defense. In conclusion, it is better to avoid applying mineral fertilizers, considering also that the organic agricultural and welfare sectors could shortly depend on such biotechnological tools and use them to fulfill global food demands for improved sustainability.

Keywords: TAM; FAMEs; seaweed biostimulants; Ulva lactuca; Jania rubens; Pterocladia capillacea (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: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/11/4/320/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/11/4/320/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jagris:v:11:y:2021:i:4:p:320-:d:530765

Access Statistics for this article

Agriculture is currently edited by Ms. Leda Xuan

More articles in Agriculture from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().