S11 - Session O3 - Keynote: Using biostimulants to help crops tolerate better abiotic stress

Authors: Juan Carlos Cabrera *

Beneficial microbials or complex bioactive mixtures extracted from natural sources are used to enhance plant tolerance to abiotic stresses. This first generation of commercial biostimulants has successfully been used to optimize nutrient uptake, crop yield, quality, and tolerance to abiotic stresses. In this work, the approach is completely different and consists of using a well-defined molecule acting as a signal in plants to develop new plant bio-products. Signal molecules naturally occur in plants, but at such low concentrations, that extraction from plants material is often not economically viable. Alternatively, these biomolecules can be produced by eco-friendly bioprocess. This presentation will also explain how this innovative molecule acts like a pre-activator of the plant tolerance mechanism to stressful situations. When exogenously applied on plants, this biomolecule is perceived by the plant cells and triggers noteworthy changes in genes transcription across multiple processes (response to water deprivation, osmotic and salt stress,…), pathways (ABA, JA, GA-), and cell functions. This reprogramming of the plant metabolism modulates some key plant responses to abiotic stresses, including the accumulation of osmoprotectants like proline and other low molecular weight metabolites, changes in the activities of ROS protective enzymes (SOD, APX), and accumulation of anthocyanins, among others. In addition to the results explaining the mode of action of this signal molecule on plants, some experiments simulating water stress in radish and tomato seedlings under controlled conditions and the performance of the formulated product in field condition on wheat, tomato, soybean, and peas will be shown and discussed.