Yield Enhancement of Biostimulants, Vitamin B12, and CoQ10 Compared to Inorganic Fertilizer in Radish

Abdur Rehim,Kevin Gallagher,Qurat-Ul-Ain Raza,Graeme P Berlyn,Muhammad Amjad Bashir

doi:10.3390/agronomy11040697

Abdur Rehim, Kevin Gallagher + Show 3 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy11040697

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Abstract

Two pot experiments were conducted to evaluate the response of radish crops against different plant growth regulators, biostimulants, and leaf extracts at Yale University, USA. The first experiment examined the marginal effect of vitamin B12 when added to the Berlyn Laboratory’s proprietary biostimulant formula (GPB Core). Increasing concentrations of vitamin B12 were added, as investigated in groups SL (0 mg/L), SB1 (0.5 mg/L), SB2 (1.0 mg/L), and SB3 (1.5 mg/L). The addition of vitamin B12 conferred no significant incremental benefit over the GPB Core. However, the GPB Core formula (SL) increased fresh shoot biomass by 172.9%, dry shoot biomass by 136.4%, fresh root biomass by 64.7%, and dry root biomass by 29.1% over plant treated with inorganic fertilizer alone (p < 0.01). The second experiment examined the combined marginal effect of vitamin B12 and coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) when added to the GPB Core. The three experimental groups included the GPB Core plus inorganic fertilizer (S+); GPB Core, vitamin B12, CoQ10, and inorganic fertilizer (SBQ+); and GPB Core, vitamin B12, CoQ10, and no inorganic fertilizer (SBQ0). SBQ0 outperformed the inorganic fertilizer control in fresh shoot, dry shoot, fresh root, and dry root biomass by 190.3%, 127.1%, 128.5%, and 41.3%, respectively (p < 0.01), indicating that inorganic fertilizer can be replaced by biostimulants while simultaneously increasing yield. Additionally, the differences between SBQ+ and SBQ0 in the biomass metrics were statistically insignificant, indicating that in the presence of biostimulants, inorganic fertilizers confer a slight marginal benefit. There was no evidence, however, that the addition of CoQ10 and vitamin B12 conferred benefits over S+. Overall, the application of biostimulants statistically significantly improves radish biomass. Both experiments indicate that under low stress conditions, biostimulants can replace inorganic fertilizer while simultaneously increasing yield.

Highlights

Acknowledged as an important crop due to its global disposition, radish (Raphanus sativus L.) belongs to the Brassicaceae family and is grown in tropical and sub-tropical climates including Europe, South America, and Southeast Asia [1,2]
The biostimulants significantly improved radish biomass over the group treated with inorganic fertilizer
Dry root biomass was the metric with the lowest percent increase, but the measurement was statistically significantly improved in SL (29.1%), B1 (29.5%), B2 (19.8%), and B3 (27.1%) (Figure 2B)

Summary

Introduction

Acknowledged as an important crop due to its global disposition, radish (Raphanus sativus L.) belongs to the Brassicaceae family and is grown in tropical and sub-tropical climates including Europe, South America, and Southeast Asia [1,2]. It is an economically important crop for the United Kingdom, as 5800 tons of radish are grown annually [3]. Plant biostimulants are bioactive mixtures containing organic and inorganic materials that when exogenously applied to a plant improves growth, vigor, productivity, nutrient uptake efficiency, and overall crop quality [6,7,8]. Biostimulants are not nutrients [11] and cannot replace inorganic fertilizers under all scenarios, but they can minimize necessary mineral nutrient application, reduce nutrient deficiencies, and ameliorate abiotic stress when applied in small amounts [10,12]

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