Underpinning beneficial maize response to application of minimally processed homogenates of red and brown seaweeds

Pradipkumar Vaghela; Grishma Gandhi; Khanjan Trivedi; K G Vijay Anand; Dhruvil Chavda; Moutusi Manna; Tanmaye Seth; Abhiram Seth; Munisamy Shanmugam; Arup Ghosh

doi:10.3389/fpls.2023.1273355

Underpinning beneficial maize response to application of minimally processed homogenates of red and brown seaweeds

Front Plant Sci. 2023 Nov 30:14:1273355. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2023.1273355. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Pradipkumar Vaghela^{1

2

3}, Grishma Gandhi^{1

2}, Khanjan Trivedi², K G Vijay Anand², Dhruvil Chavda^{1

2}, Moutusi Manna^{1

2}, Tanmaye Seth³, Abhiram Seth³, Munisamy Shanmugam³, Arup Ghosh^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad, India.
² Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) - Central Salt and Marine Chemicals Research Institute, GB Marg, Bhavnagar, Gujarat, India.
³ Aquagri Processing Private Limited, Delhi, India.

Abstract

Sap from the fresh seaweed Kappaphycus alvarezii (KA) has been reported to improve crop growth, quality, and stress alleviation. However, limited studies are reported for the minimally processed aqueous homogenates (MPHs) derived from dry seaweeds. The present investigation was envisaged to characterize the MPHs from the red seaweed KA and a brown seaweed Sargassum wightii (SW) and also assess the effect of foliar application on maize (Zea mays) crop performance when applied alone or in proportions ranging from 0% to 100%. Two doses (0.35% and 0.7%) were compared with control. Both the MPHs contained several compounds like retronecine, tyrosyl-glycine, hexyl 2-furoate, 1-phosphatidyl-1D-myo-inositol, 12-(2,3-dihydroxycyclopentyl)-2-dodecanone, and trihomomethionine and many others that have known bioactivity for enhancing plant growth and providing stress tolerance. Both doses of MPHs enhanced crop growth and yield; however, the best response was in general observed at a lower dose. The MPH of SW at 100% gave the highest seed yield at a lower dose, which was also on par with that obtained under a lower dose of 100% KA. Other combinations, 80:20 and 40:60 KA : SW, were also found to give comparable yields. The highest dose of 100% MPH of SW was found on par with control, a phenomenon that was investigated in detail with respect to metabolites and antioxidant profile in leaves as well as membrane modeling. Higher ROS and certain sugar and organic acids were observed in 100% MPH of SW at a higher dose, although none of the antioxidant enzymes were significantly affected, nor was there any change in membrane characteristics of the leaf with respect to control as well as lower dose. Improvements in the seed yield were attributed to improved photosynthate production on account of higher dry matter accumulation in the MPH-treated plants, which may also be attributed to the presence of bioactive compounds in the biostimulants. In the future, it is imperative to direct scientific investigations towards the quantification and identification of the most effective concentrations of these compounds within MPHs to optimize plant responses. The study indicated the beneficial use of the MPHs towards increasing crop production by employing optimum dose as foliar spray to crops.

Keywords: Kappaphycus alvarezii; Sargassum wightii; biostimulants; maize; reactive oxygen species; tandem mass spectroscopy; untargeted metabolites.

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), New Delhi, India is acknowledged for providing funding assistance under the projects MLP-0049(1) and HCP 0024. The ADECIF Division of CSIR-CSMCRI is also acknowledged for the instrumental facilities extended. The manuscript bears CSIR-CSMCRI communication No - 78/2023.