Zaxinone mimics boost growth and productivity of wheat under normal and low-nutrient regimes

BACKGROUND: The increasing demand for sustainable agriculture requires innovative strategies to reduce reliance on synthetic fertilizers without compromising crop growth and productivity. Plant-derived biostimulants are among the transformative strategies for enhancing nutrient use efficiency, crop resilience and productivity across diverse ecosystems. Therefore, this study investigated the potential of two novel naturally-inspired growth stimulants, MiZax3 and MiZax5, to enhance wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) growth and yield under reduced NPK fertilizer across multiple growth systems, including hydroponic, greenhouse, and field conditions. RESULTS: and grain weight were increased by 25-34% and 36-45%, respectively, compared with full fertilization. Field experiments validated these findings, MiZax3 and MiZax5 with 50% NPK treatments promoting vegetative growth, enhancing photosynthetic performance, and increasing grain yield by 8-11% over full-strength NPK alone. Moreover, metabolite profiling revealed that MiZax application boosts carbon and nitrogen assimilation associated with increasing free sugars and growth-related amino acids. When applied with 50% NPK, MiZax further amplified sugar availability and amino acid accumulation while modulating central carbon metabolism, demonstrating synergistic enhancement of metabolic efficiency. CONCLUSIONS: Collectively, these findings demonstrate that MiZax functions both independently and integrated with reduced fertilization to optimize metabolic allocation toward growth-supporting pathways and nutrient-use efficiency, highlighting their potential as sustainable biostimulants.