Potentialities of two biostimulants on germination and growth of tomato seedlings

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of the biostimulants QuitoMax® and OPLANT+® on germination and growth of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) seedlings. Under laboratory conditions, an experiment was carried out in a factorial scheme (7 × 3), in a completely randomized design, with three repetitions. Three concentrations of QuitoMax® (2.5, 5 and 10 mg/L), three dilutions of OPLANT+® (1:40, 1:50 and 1:60 (v: v)) and a control (water) were combined with three imbibitions times (TI) (10, 20 and 30 min). Another experiment was carried out under field conditions in a randomized block design, with three treatments and seven replications. A control (without biostimulants), seeds imbibed in 5 mg/L of QuitoMax® for 20 min and 1:60, v:v of OPLANT+® for 30 min. Results revealed that QuitoMax® and OPLANT+® showed similar effects on seeds germination in the treatments with 5 mg/L for 20 min and 1:60 for 30 min, respectively. The dry mass of the aerial part and the roots increased by 24 % and 98 % with the QuitoMax® and 11 % and 90 % with the OPLANT+® in relation to the control treatment, but QuitoMax® was more promising in growth promotion than humic substances. This study suggests that both biostimulants are efficient and viable to stimulate seed germination and tomato plants growth, which leads to their use in sustainable production in these crops stages.