Impact of biostimulants on crop growth and soil health - A review

Biostimulants are essential for advancing sustainable agriculture by promoting plant growth, soil health and crop productivity. It is derived from organic materials, including microbial and non-microbial components, which undergo an activated biological and physiological process that stimulates nutrient uptake, resists stressful conditions and also regulates plant metabolism. It includes microbial components such as Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi (AMF) and Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria (PGPR) and other nonmicrobial components like protein hydrolysates, seaweed extracts, humic acid, fulvic acid, chitin and chitosan based biostimulants, which plays a significant role through different mode of actions such as modulation in plant hormone, activating antioxidant responses, water and nutrient absorption in soil and crop resilience. Their applications across various agricultural and horticultural crops, where they exhibited enhanced nutrient efficiency, eliminated environmental stress and promoted eco-friendly farming methods. Furthermore, biostimulants showed promising solutions for problematic soils. This review explores the applications of biostimulants and their influence on ensuring food security, enhancing nutrient uptake and stimulating natural processes, improving crop quality, yield and reducing dependency on synthetic fertilizers. Further research should focus on the timely application of biostimulants and their formulations for different crops to increase their potential benefits across agricultural systems.