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Biostimulants as a Tool for Improving Environmental Sustainability of Greenhouse Vegetable Crops

Author

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  • Sara Rajabi Hamedani

    (Department of Agriculture and Forest Sciences, University of Tuscia, 01100 Viterbo, Italy)

  • Youssef Rouphael

    (Department of Agricultural Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, 80055 Portici, Italy)

  • Giuseppe Colla

    (Department of Agriculture and Forest Sciences, University of Tuscia, 01100 Viterbo, Italy)

  • Andrea Colantoni

    (Department of Agriculture and Forest Sciences, University of Tuscia, 01100 Viterbo, Italy)

  • Mariateresa Cardarelli

    (Consiglio per la ricerca in agricoltura e l’analisi dell’economia agraria, Centro di ricerca Orticoltura e Florovivaismo, 84098 Pontecagnano Faiano, Italy)

Abstract

Plant biostimulants have gained great interest from the agrochemical industry and farmers because of their ability to enhance nutrient use efficiency and increase abiotic stress tolerance in crop production. However, despite the considerable potential of biostimulants for the sustainable development of the agricultural sector, the environmental evaluation of the application of biostimulants is still missing. Hence, this is the first study that focuses on the environmental assessment of the biostimulant action of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus Glomus intraradices and vegetal-derived protein hydrolysate on two greenhouse vegetable crops, spinach and zucchini squash, under different fertilization regimes. The life cycle assessment from a cradle to gate perspective, which covers all processes related to crop cultivation up to harvest, was carried out to calculate the carbon footprint of the production chain for these two crops. The results of the comparative analysis revealed that the CO 2 equivalent emissions of both crops were reduced due to the biostimulant applications. In particular, the effect of the mycorrhization on the reduction of carbon emissions compared to the un-mycorrhized control was higher in zucchini plants under organic fertilization (12%) than under mineral fertilization (7%). In addition, organic fertilization increased the total carbon footprint of zucchini (52%) compared with mineral fertilization. The results also showed that an increase of nitrogen fertilization from 15 to 45 kg N ha −1 in spinach production enhanced the total CO 2 emissions per ton of harvested leaves in comparison with treatments that involved the foliar applications of protein hydrolysate together with a lower nitrogen input; this increase was 4% compared to the unfertilized treatment with application of biostimulant. This study can support decision-making in terms of agronomic technique choices in line with sustainable development of vegetable crop production.

Suggested Citation

  • Sara Rajabi Hamedani & Youssef Rouphael & Giuseppe Colla & Andrea Colantoni & Mariateresa Cardarelli, 2020. "Biostimulants as a Tool for Improving Environmental Sustainability of Greenhouse Vegetable Crops," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(12), pages 1-10, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:12:p:5101-:d:375099
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Cuce, Erdem & Harjunowibowo, Dewanto & Cuce, Pinar Mert, 2016. "Renewable and sustainable energy saving strategies for greenhouse systems: A comprehensive review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 34-59.
    2. Jonathan Yoder & Suzette Galinato & David Granatstein & Manuel Garcia-Perez, 2009. "Economic tradeoff between biochar and bio-oil production via pyrolysis," Working Papers 2009-25, School of Economic Sciences, Washington State University.
    3. Andrea Colantoni & Lucia Recchia & Guido Bernabei & Mariateresa Cardarelli & Youssef Rouphael & Giuseppe Colla, 2017. "Analyzing the Environmental Impact of Chemically-Produced Protein Hydrolysate from Leather Waste vs. Enzymatically-Produced Protein Hydrolysate from Legume Grains," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 7(8), pages 1-9, July.
    4. Rouphael, Youssef & Cardarelli, Mariateresa & Rea, Elvira & Battistelli, Alberto & Colla, Giuseppe, 2006. "Comparison of the subirrigation and drip-irrigation systems for greenhouse zucchini squash production using saline and non-saline nutrient solutions," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 82(1-2), pages 99-117, April.
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    Cited by:

    1. Sara Rajabi Hamedani & Mariateresa Cardarelli & Youssef Rouphael & Paolo Bonini & Andrea Colantoni & Giuseppe Colla, 2023. "Comparative Environmental Assessment of the Iron Fertilisers’ Production: Fe-Biochelate versus Fe-EDDHA," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(9), pages 1-14, May.
    2. Farhana Bibi & Azizur Rahman, 2023. "An Overview of Climate Change Impacts on Agriculture and Their Mitigation Strategies," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 13(8), pages 1-15, July.
    3. Magdalena Scherer & Piotr Milczarski, 2021. "Machine-Learning-Based Carbon Footprint Management in the Frozen Vegetable Processing Industry," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(22), pages 1-21, November.
    4. Antonios Chrysargyris & Savvas Charalambous & Panayiota Xylia & Vassilis Litskas & Menelaos Stavrinides & Nikos Tzortzakis, 2020. "Assessing the Biostimulant Effects of a Novel Plant-Based Formulation on Tomato Crop," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(20), pages 1-15, October.

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