Biostimulants, microbial products & plant-microorganism interactions

Biostimulants are extracts of seaweeds, plants or microorganisms that stimulate growth or improve nutrient uptake without being fertilizers or pesticides. We characterize extracts such as those of the brown seaweed Cystoseira barbata and of willow, and test their effects on seedling growth, yield, quality and stress tolerance in wheat, tomato, maize and other crops. Seeds enriched with micronutrients and seed priming treatments belong to the same line of work.

The microbial side covers the organisms that live with roots. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, plant growth promoting bacteria and root endophytes such as Serendipita indica (formerly Piriformospora indica) can improve the uptake of phosphorus, zinc and other nutrients and make plants more tolerant of stress. In projects with TAGEM and TÜBİTAK we develop mycorrhiza and bacteria consortia and the solid and liquid formulations needed to turn them into microbial fertilizers.

What we have found

Extracts of Cystoseira barbata, a brown seaweed collected from the Turkish coast, increased the growth, yield, quality and nutraceutical value of soil-grown tomato, and extracts prepared in different ways stimulated wheat seedling growth to different degrees, which shows that the extraction method shapes the biostimulant effect. Extracts of willow (Salix babylonica) improved the salinity tolerance of maize grown in soilless culture. With the root endophyte Serendipita indica we studied how colonization changes the response of wheat to boron toxicity. The publications listed below carry the details.