3 - Sources of endogenous biostimulants

Abstract

The tremendous growth in the global population is creating a massive gap in food demand and proportionate food production. Agrochemical applications helped bridge this gap and revolutionized the agricultural industry, simultaneously posing deteriorating environmental impacts. Climate change, pest infection, viral diseases, and poor soil quality create a bottleneck to ensuring food security for all. Sustainable agricultural solutions are developing a hope to fulfill the food requirements of the overgrowing population without impacting soil ecology. Biostimulants have been identified as one potent candidate for sustainable agriculture. Biostimulants have significantly improved plant productivity, seed germination, shoot and root length, better stress tolerance against biotic and abiotic stress, and the plant defense system. However, the application of biostimulants in agriculture is still in infancy and requires extensive research in the near future. This current article has summarized the application and challenges associated with using biostimulants for sustainable agriculture.