Impact of Drought and Biostimulant in Greenhouse Tomato: Agronomic and Metabolomic Insights
Widespread drought conditions have increasingly affected agricultural productivity, requiring the exploration of alternative approaches for improving crop tolerance, yield and quality, since plants adopt many physiological strategies to cope with challenging environments. This study evaluated the ef...
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MDPI AG
2025-06-01
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| Series: | Plants |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/14/13/2000 |
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| author | Marzia Leporino Mariateresa Cardarelli Paolo Bonini Simona Proietti Stefano Moscatello Giuseppe Colla |
| author_facet | Marzia Leporino Mariateresa Cardarelli Paolo Bonini Simona Proietti Stefano Moscatello Giuseppe Colla |
| author_sort | Marzia Leporino |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Widespread drought conditions have increasingly affected agricultural productivity, requiring the exploration of alternative approaches for improving crop tolerance, yield and quality, since plants adopt many physiological strategies to cope with challenging environments. This study evaluated the effects of a vegetal-derived protein hydrolysate (PH), applied via foliar spray or root drench at a concentration of 3 mL L<sup>−1</sup>, on tomato plants (n = 96) under well-watered and drought-stressed conditions over a 136-day greenhouse experiment. Overall, sub-optimal irrigation significantly decreased plant dry biomass (−55.3%) and fruit production (−68.8% marketable yield), and enhanced fruit quality in terms of sugar concentration and antioxidant levels. PH treatments, regardless of the application method, did not notably influence above-ground dry biomass, yield, or fruit quality, suggesting that the intensity of drought might have limited PH effectiveness. Metabolomic analysis showed higher concentrations of stress- and quality-related metabolites in tomato fruits from plants under stress, with PH not exerting significant metabolic changes in the fruits. These findings revealed the diminished effectiveness of PHs under severe drought conditions, suggesting that drought stress level needs to be taken into consideration for optimizing biostimulant efficacy. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-aa21a4b43ee44d29ae361b54d43a5b69 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2223-7747 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
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| series | Plants |
| spelling | doaj-art-aa21a4b43ee44d29ae361b54d43a5b692025-08-20T03:28:29ZengMDPI AGPlants2223-77472025-06-011413200010.3390/plants14132000Impact of Drought and Biostimulant in Greenhouse Tomato: Agronomic and Metabolomic InsightsMarzia Leporino0Mariateresa Cardarelli1Paolo Bonini2Simona Proietti3Stefano Moscatello4Giuseppe Colla5Department of Agriculture and Forestry Science, University of Tuscia, 01100 Viterbo, ItalyDepartment of Agriculture and Forestry Science, University of Tuscia, 01100 Viterbo, ItalyOloBion SL, 08028 Barcelona, SpainNational Research Council (CNR), 05010 Porano, ItalyNational Research Council (CNR), 05010 Porano, ItalyDepartment of Agriculture and Forestry Science, University of Tuscia, 01100 Viterbo, ItalyWidespread drought conditions have increasingly affected agricultural productivity, requiring the exploration of alternative approaches for improving crop tolerance, yield and quality, since plants adopt many physiological strategies to cope with challenging environments. This study evaluated the effects of a vegetal-derived protein hydrolysate (PH), applied via foliar spray or root drench at a concentration of 3 mL L<sup>−1</sup>, on tomato plants (n = 96) under well-watered and drought-stressed conditions over a 136-day greenhouse experiment. Overall, sub-optimal irrigation significantly decreased plant dry biomass (−55.3%) and fruit production (−68.8% marketable yield), and enhanced fruit quality in terms of sugar concentration and antioxidant levels. PH treatments, regardless of the application method, did not notably influence above-ground dry biomass, yield, or fruit quality, suggesting that the intensity of drought might have limited PH effectiveness. Metabolomic analysis showed higher concentrations of stress- and quality-related metabolites in tomato fruits from plants under stress, with PH not exerting significant metabolic changes in the fruits. These findings revealed the diminished effectiveness of PHs under severe drought conditions, suggesting that drought stress level needs to be taken into consideration for optimizing biostimulant efficacy.https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/14/13/2000water stress<i>Solanum lycopersicum</i> L.plant-derived protein hydrolysateantioxidantsfruit quality |
| spellingShingle | Marzia Leporino Mariateresa Cardarelli Paolo Bonini Simona Proietti Stefano Moscatello Giuseppe Colla Impact of Drought and Biostimulant in Greenhouse Tomato: Agronomic and Metabolomic Insights Plants water stress <i>Solanum lycopersicum</i> L. plant-derived protein hydrolysate antioxidants fruit quality |
| title | Impact of Drought and Biostimulant in Greenhouse Tomato: Agronomic and Metabolomic Insights |
| title_full | Impact of Drought and Biostimulant in Greenhouse Tomato: Agronomic and Metabolomic Insights |
| title_fullStr | Impact of Drought and Biostimulant in Greenhouse Tomato: Agronomic and Metabolomic Insights |
| title_full_unstemmed | Impact of Drought and Biostimulant in Greenhouse Tomato: Agronomic and Metabolomic Insights |
| title_short | Impact of Drought and Biostimulant in Greenhouse Tomato: Agronomic and Metabolomic Insights |
| title_sort | impact of drought and biostimulant in greenhouse tomato agronomic and metabolomic insights |
| topic | water stress <i>Solanum lycopersicum</i> L. plant-derived protein hydrolysate antioxidants fruit quality |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/14/13/2000 |
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