Foliar Applications of Biostimulants Promote Growth, Yield and Fruit Quality of Strawberry Plants Grown under Nutrient Limitation

Summary

Biostimulants have been found effective in enhancing plant resistance toward stressful conditions. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy of selected biostimulants to overcome the negative effects of nutrient limitation on the growth performances and on the fruit quality of soilless cultivated strawberry plants. The condition of nutrient limitation was imposed by supplying the plants with only a single fertilization at transplantation and by excluding any further nutrient supply for the entire duration of the experiment (three months, from May to July). Strawberry plants were treated seven times during the period from preflowering up to berry maturation with different classes of biostimulants (humic acids, alfalfa hydrolysate, macroseaweed extract and microalga hydrolysa