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Unlocking the potential of tropical red and brown seaweed-based biostimulants—a comparative assessment for sustainable maize (Zea mays) production

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Abstract

The pressing need for sustainable agriculture has led to increasing interest in seaweed biostimulants as a green alternative to chemical fertilizers. This study aimed to investigate and confirm the effectiveness of extracts from two cultivable red seaweeds, Kappaphycus alvarezii (KAE) and Gracilaria debilis (GDE), and a naturally harvestable brown seaweed, Sargassum cinctum (SCE), as biostimulants on maize. The chemical composition showed them to be rich in macronutrients, carotenoids, proline, micronutrients, total phenols, flavonoids, and hormones, many of which have known bioactivities in plants. Field trials were carried out over two years to assess various growth parameters, cob and yield attributes, grain quality, and the status of soil enzymes and nutrients. The findings demonstrated that all three seaweed extracts significantly enhanced plant growth, crop yield, and grain quality. The most effective dosage for maximum benefit was determined to be 7.5%, as further yield improvement was not observed beyond this point. The increases in yields were 19, 21, and 20% over their respective controls in the KAE, GDE, and SCE treatments, respectively, even at the lowest dose of 2.5%. Furthermore, the extracts had positive effects on soil properties, such as increasing enzymatic activities and nutrient availability, which contributed to improved crop nutrition. The active ingredients in the extracts, including plant growth hormones and phenolic compounds, likely influenced plant physiological processes and metabolic pathways, leading to improved shoot and root growth, yield and nutrient absorption. This study highlights the potential of seaweed biostimulants in sustainable agriculture, enhancing productivity, grain quality, soil health and profitability.

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Data availability

The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are available and can be provided by the corresponding author upon request without reservation.

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Acknowledgement

GG is grateful to DST for funding her INSPIRE Fellowship. GG would like to thank AcSIR for enrollment in the Ph.D. program. The authors are thankful to Dr. K Eswaran from CSMCRI MARS Mandapam Camp, Tamil Nadu, India, for providing Kappaphycus alvarezii seaweed extract. Mr. Prakash Ambaliya, Ms. Megha Bagariya, Mr. Umesh, and Mr. Lalabhai Boliya are acknowledged for their technical support in field experiments. This manuscript bears PRIS communication number 88/2023.

Funding

GG and AG are grateful to DST for funding GG with a DST-INSPIRE Fellowship. Grant no. DST -INSPIRE, IF 170320 and CSIR, New Delhi for funding through MLP 0049(1).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad, 201002, India

    Grishma Gandhi, V. Veeragurunathan & Arup Ghosh

  2. Applied Phycology & Biotechnology Division, CSIR-Central Salt & Marine Chemicals Research Institute, Bhavnagar, 364002, Gujarat, India

    Grishma Gandhi, Vijay Anand K. Gopalakrishnan, V. Veeragurunathan & Arup Ghosh

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  1. Grishma Gandhi
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Contributions

Conceptualization, AG; Methodology, GG, KGV; Formal analysis, GG, KGV; Investigation, AG, GG, KGV; Resources, KGV, VV; Data curation, GG, KGV; writing—original draft preparation, AG, KGV; Writing—review and editing, KGV, VV and AG; Supervision, AG; Project administration, AG; Funding acquisition, AG. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Arup Ghosh.

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Gandhi, G., Gopalakrishnan, V.A.K., Veeragurunathan, V. et al. Unlocking the potential of tropical red and brown seaweed-based biostimulants—a comparative assessment for sustainable maize (Zea mays) production. J Appl Phycol 36, 1513–1531 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10811-023-03155-0

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