Biostimulants for Crops from Seed Germination to Plant Development: A Practical Approach

Biostimulants for crops from seed germination to plant development focuses on the effects and roles of natural biostimulants in every aspect of plant growth development to reduce the use of harmful chemical fertilizers and pesticides.

Biostimulants are a group of substances of natural origin that offer a potential to reduce the dependency on harmful chemical fertilizers causing environmental degradation. While there is extensive literature on biostimulants, there remains a gap in understanding how natural biostimulants work and their practical application. This book fills that gap, presenting the ways in which biostimulants enhance seed vigor and plant productivity by looking into their mode of action, an area still being researched for deeper understanding. Exploring the roles of seed germination, pollen tube formation, pollen-pistil interaction, flower and fruit setting, to plant pigments, rhizospheric and soil microorganisms, the book also sheds light on the challenges and realistic opportunities for the use of natural biostimulants.

• Approaches biostimulant research with the goal of transforming scientific research into practical application
• Includes real-world examples from laboratory, greenhouse and field experiments
• Presents the biochemical, physiological and molecular mode of action of biostimulants

Ph.D. Botany from G.B. Pant University of Agriculture & Technology, Pantnagar, India in 2015. Her research field includes plant physiology, biostimulants, plant tissue culture, plant biotechnology and analytical chemistry. She has published 14 research articles in reputed journals. She worked as an assistant professor at Baba Farid College, Punjab, India from September 2015 to October 2017. At present, she is working as Post-doctoral researcher at the University of Kwa Zulu-Natal, South Africa. She is a review board editor of South African Journal of Botany and Journal referee for Acta Physiologia Plantarum, and Journal of Plant Growth Regulation.

Ph.D. in Botany from university of Natal, South Africa in 1970. He is the director of the Research Centre for Plant Growth and Development, University of Natal, South Africa. His research field includes plant hormones, biostimulants, seed germination, senescence, stress physiology, post-harvest physiology, biotechnology and plant tissue culture, ethnobotany, secondary products and ethnomedicine. Prof Van Staden has supervised 82 MSc and 100 Ph.D. students and 70 Post-Docs. He is the author/co-author of more than 1400 papers which have been published in ISI rated journals. He has a number of publications that qualify as ‘citation classics’ (over 100 citations). Prof Van Staden is former Editor-in-Chief of the South African Journal of Botany.