Biostimulant Effects of Algae Species, Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi, and Their Combinations on Yield and Quality of Yellow Tomato Landrace Under Different Crop Cycles
Soumaya Abidi,
Alessio Vincenzo Tallarita,
Eugenio Cozzolino,
Vasile Stoleru,
Otilia Cristina Murariu,
Amina Abidi,
Roberto Maiello,
Vincenzo Cenvinzo,
Pasquale Lombardi,
Antonio Cuciniello,
Lamia Hamrouni,
Gianluca Caruso,
Rafik Balti
Affiliations
Soumaya Abidi
Laboratory of Functional Physiology and Valorization of Bioresources, Higher Institute of Biotechnology of Beja, University of Jendouba, Avenue Habib Bourguiba, BP 382, Beja 9000, Tunisia
Alessio Vincenzo Tallarita
Department of Agricultural Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, Portici, 80055 Naples, Italy
Eugenio Cozzolino
Research Center for Cereal and Industrial Crops, Council for Agricultural Research and Economics (CREA), 81100 Caserta, Italy
Vasile Stoleru
Department of Horticultural Technologies, ‘Ion Ionescu de la Brad’ Iasi University of Life Sciences, 700490 Iasi, Romania
Otilia Cristina Murariu
Department of Food Technologies, ‘Ion Ionescu de la Brad’ Iasi University of Life Sciences, 700490 Iasi, Romania
Amina Abidi
Laboratory of Management and Valorization of Forest Resources, National Institute of Researches on Rural Engineering, Water and Forests, P.B. 10, Ariana 2080, Tunisia
Roberto Maiello
Department of Agricultural Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, Portici, 80055 Naples, Italy
Vincenzo Cenvinzo
Department of Agricultural Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, Portici, 80055 Naples, Italy
Pasquale Lombardi
Research Center for Vegetable and Ornamental Crops, 84098 Pontecagnano Faiano, Italy
Antonio Cuciniello
Research Center for Cereal and Industrial Crops, Council for Agricultural Research and Economics (CREA), 81100 Caserta, Italy
Lamia Hamrouni
Laboratory of Management and Valorization of Forest Resources, National Institute of Researches on Rural Engineering, Water and Forests, P.B. 10, Ariana 2080, Tunisia
Gianluca Caruso
Department of Agricultural Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, Portici, 80055 Naples, Italy
Rafik Balti
Université Paris-Saclay, CentraleSupélec, Laboratoire de Génie des Procédés et Matériaux, Centre Européen de Biotechnologie et de Bioéconomie (CEBB), 3 rue des Rouges Terres, 51110 Pomacle, France
Recent agricultural research has prioritized the development of environmentally friendly management strategies to ensure food security, among which the application of biostimulants such as brown algae extracts, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), and their combination are included. The experimental protocol was based on the factorial combination of two planting times (4 May and 1 June) and seven biostimulant treatments (three brown algae species, Cystoseria tamariscifolia—C.t.; Fucus vesiculosus—F.v.; Padina pavonica—P.p.; arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi—AMF; C.t. + AMF; F.v. + AMF; P.p. + AMF) plus an untreated control. The earlier transplant resulted in a higher yield, due to the higher number of fruits per plant, and a higher plant fresh and dry biomass. The treatments with P.p. and F.v. extracts and the combination P.p. + AMF led to the highest yields (56.7 t ha−1), mainly due to the highest fruit number per plant. The earlier planting time led to higher values of dry residue, soluble solids, firmness, and colour component ‘a’. The highest values of fruit dry residue were recorded under the F.v. and P.p. extracts, and the combinations F.v. + AMF and P.p. + AMF, the highest soluble solid content with P.p. treatment, and firmness under P.p. + AMF. The highest levels of ‘L’ and ‘a’ fruit colour components were obtained under the P.p. extract treatment, of ‘b’ upon the application of P.p. and F.v. extract, and AMF + P.p. and AMF + F.v. The later planting time led to significantly higher values of the antioxidant parameters, as did the application of the P.p. extract and P.p. + AMF. CAT activity was more intense corresponding to the later tomato crop cycle, P.p. extract, and AMF + P.p. Overall, our study highlights the potential of biostimulants, particularly brown algae extracts and their combination with AMF, to improve tomato yield, antioxidant properties, and biochemical activities.
