Use of biostimulants in fruiting crops’ sustainable management: A narrative review

Abstract

Introduction: On a global scale, the obstacles to fruticulture correspond to the lack of skilled labor, the limited amount of available arable land, and the high costs of acquiring fertilizers and pesticides. These inconveniences, linked to environmental impacts and ecotoxicological damage, indicate that scientists, industries, and fruit growers have shown interest in the development of biotools for fruiting crops’ management aiming at orchards’ optimal production, such as biostimulants. This bioinput stimulates plant nutrition processes independently of the product’s nutrient content, aiming to improve efficiency in the use of nutrients, tolerance to abiotic stress, and the quality and availability characteristics of nutrients available in the growth medium. Objective: Thus, this narrative review aims to analyze the state-of-the-art regarding the use of biostimulants in fruticulture, compile information on the proper application of these bioinputs and present alternatives to the diffusion of biostimulants in fruit agroecosystems. The totality of bioestimulants’ action mechanisms still needs to be better understood. Results: The applicability of biostimulants in the management of fruiting crops proved to be a relevant possibility to grant sustainability to production systems in fruticulture and reduce costs, increasing productivity, shelf life, and reducing damage caused by climatic adversities in crops, mainly hydric stress. Conclusions: The development of specific legislation for biostimulants should contribute substantially to generating credibility with farmers in order to differentiate, for example, foliar fertilizers and microbial agents.