Agriculture provides majority of food for the growing population. Higher demands for food cause greater negative impacts to the environment. With ongoing development of new more ecological acceptable agricultural technology we can alleviate these negative impacts. Use of biostiumulants have been proposed as a new solution. Biostimulants are substances - differentially than fertilizers - that promote physiological processes and stimulate plant growth and development. They can enhance nutrient uptake and efficiency, regulate plant metabolism, increase responses to environmental factors by ameliorating abiotic and biotic stress (e.g. imporvement of responses to pathogens). These effects result in better growth quality and greater yield in crops. Activity of biostimulants depends on the composition, quantity, method of application, crop species, developmental stage of plant and environmental conditions. Plant biostimulants are protein hydrolysates, seaweed extracts, chitosan and biopolymers, inorganic substances, beneficial fungi, beneficial bacteria and humic substances. Implementing biostimulants to sustainable crop management demand further understaning of mechanisms of their functioning, interactions with other substances and environmental conditions. Evaluation of their effects and optimization of modes of application is required for each plant species.
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