Biostimulant Effects of an Aqueous Extract of Duckweed (Lemna minor L.) on Physiological and Biochemical Traits in the Olive Tree

Authors:
Open Access
Publisher website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Biostimulants are becoming increasingly popular in agriculture for their ability to induce beneficial effects in crops, paving the way towards the identification of new materials with biostimulant potential. This study evaluated the potential of different concentrations of an aqueous extract (0.25%, 0.50%, and 1.00%, dry weight/water volume, respectively) obtained from duckweed (Lemna minor L.) to stimulate olive plants. Leaf net photosynthesis (Pn), leaf transpiration rate (E), stomatal conductance (gs), sub-stomatal CO2 concentration (Ci), chlorophyll content and other plant growth parameters were investigated. As a result, the extract improved Pn, gs, Ci, chlorophyll content and plant biomass production (leaf fresh and dry weight). Furthermore, the duckweed extract generally increased the uptake of nitrogen (N), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn), while it did not influence the content of sodium (Na), manganese (Mn) and copper (Cu). The untargeted metabolomic profiling of the extract revealed the presence of signalling compounds (including phytohormones), phenolics and glutathione. Such broad diversity of bioactives may support the stimulatory potential observed in olive. In summary, this study revealed for the first time that duckweed could be seen as a promising species to obtain extracts with biostimulant properties in olive trees.
Funding Information
  • Ricerca di Base 2020” of the Department of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences of the University of Perugia (Coordinator: Primo Proietti) (none)

This publication has 75 references indexed in Scilit: