Seaweed extract biostimulants are among the best modern sustainable biological plant growth promoters. They have been proven to eliminate plant diseases and abiotic stresses, leading to maximizing yields. Additionally, they have been listed as environmentally friendly biofertilizers. The focus of the present research is the use of a commercial seaweed biostimulant as an eco-friendly product (formally named True Algae Max (TAM). During the 2017 and 2018 seasons, five treatments of various NPK:TAM ratios were applied via regular fertigation, namely a conventional treatment of 100% NPK (C₀) alongside combinations of 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100% (C₂₅, C₅₀, C₇₅, and C₁₀₀) of TAM, to evaluate the effectiveness of its bioactive compounds on enhancing growth, yield, and NPK content of cucumber (Cucumis sativus) under greenhouse conditions. TAM is rich in phytochemical compounds, such as milbemycin oxime, rhodopin, nonadecane, and 5-silaspiro [4.4]nona-1,3,6,8-tetraene,3,8-bis(diethylboryl)-2,7-diethyl-1,4,6,9-tetraphenyl-. Promising measured parameter outcomes showed the potentiality of applying TAM with and without mixes of ordinary NPK application. TAM could increase cucumber yield due to improving chemical and physical features related to immunity, productivity, and stress defense. In conclusion, it is better to avoid applying mineral fertilizers, considering also that the organic agricultural and welfare sectors could shortly depend on such biotechnological tools and use them to fulfill global food demands for improved sustainability.

Bioactive molecules derived from seaweed extracts are revolutionary bio-stimulants used to enhance plant growth and increase yield production. This study evaluated the effectiveness of a commercially available seaweed liquid extract, namely, True-Algae-Max (TAM^®), as a plant growth stimulant on nutritional, and antioxidant activity of Capsicum annuum. Three concentrations of TAM^® (0.25, 0.5, and 1%) of various NPK: TAM^® ratios were investigated via foliar spray, over 2017 and 2018 cultivation seasons, under greenhouse conditions. TAM^® is rich in phytochemical compounds, such as ascorbic acid (1.66 mg g⁻¹), phenolics (101.67 mg g⁻¹), and flavonoids (2.60 mg g⁻¹) that showed good antioxidant activity (54.52 mg g⁻¹) and DPPH inhibition of 70.33%. Promoting measured parameter results stated the extensive potentiality of TAM^® application, in comparison with conventional NPK treatment. Yield and composition of C. annuum were significantly improved in all TAM^® treated groups, especially the TAM_0.5% concentration, which resulted in maximum yield (4.23 Kg m⁻²) and significant amounts of profuse biological molecules like chlorophyll, ascorbic, phenolic compounds, flavonoids, and total nutrients. Compared to the NPK control treatments, C. annuum treated with TAM_0.5% improved the total antioxidant activity of hot Pepper from 162.16 to 190.95 mg g⁻¹. These findings indicate that the extract of seaweed can be used as an environmentally friendly, multi-functional biostimulant in the agricultural field for more sustainable production, in addition to reducing the use of hazardous synthetic fertilizers.

This study aimed to understand the effect of commercial seaweed extract as a biofertilizer, named True-Algae-Max (TAM^®), on the yield, nutritional, antioxidant, and cytotoxic activity of Eruca vesicaria. Three concentrations of TAM^® (5, 10, and 15%) were studied by foliar spray over the two cultivation years (2016 and 2017) without any chemical fertilizer, along with a control consisting of synthetic nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium (NPK) fertilizers. The yield and composition of E. vesicaria were significantly improved in all treatments, particularly at 10% concentration of TAM^®, which resulted in maximum yield (1.99 kg m⁻²) and significant amounts of chlorophyll, carotenoids, phenolic compounds, flavonoids and total nutrients. Compared to the NPK control, E. vesicaria grown with 10% of TAM^® improved total antioxidant activity from 41.80 to 49.36 mg g⁻¹ and cytotoxicity from 25.30 to 60.40% with an IC₅₀ value 85.7 µg mL⁻¹ against the hepatocellular carcinoma cell line (HepG2). These findings indicate that seaweed extract can generally be used as a safe potential multifunctional biofertilizer in the agricultural field. The use of seaweed as a biofertilizer could potentially help mitigate the adverse effects of main nutrient deficiencies, diminishing the use of chemical fertilizers.

Seaweeds are increasingly intriguing as a sustainable source of bioactive compounds. They have applications in agriculture, fuels, feed, and food products. To become a cost-competitive product with zero waste, a biorefinery approach is applied, where several products are valorized at the same time. True-Algae-Max (TAM^®) has been investigated for its ability to improve the yield and nutritional facts of a strawberry plant. Three concentrations of TAM (0, 50, and 100%) were examined by foliar spray in 2017 with 50% NPK chemical fertilizer. Results indicated that growth, yield, chlorophyll, and potassium content were significantly improved by TAM treatments. TAM50 % resulted in maximum root length, leaf area, plant fresh weight, fruit weight, and yield with an increase ranging from 10 to 110% compared to control. Compared to the NPK control, strawberries grown with TAM50% improved total soluble solids (TSS) from 7.58 to 10.12% and anthocyanin from 23.08 to 29.42 mg CGE 100 g⁻¹. Noteworthily, this reduced total sugar, and total phenolics were boosted by TAM applications, while non-reducing sugar was reduced compared to control. On the other hand, whole seaweed biomass and TAM residuals were used for bioethanol production by acid scarification. The maximum bioethanol yield was observed in residual biomass (0.34 g g⁻¹ dw), while the whole seaweed biomass showed only 0.20 g g⁻¹ dw. These results proved the biorefinery concept of using seaweed extract as a biostimulator and bioethanol production.

We performed field experiments to evaluate the influence of two extraction treatments, seaweed (Pterocladia capillacea S.G. Gmelin) water extraction (WE) and ultrasound-assisted water extraction (USWE) at three concentrations (5%, 10%, and 15%), as well as control NPK traditional mineral fertilizer on the growth, yield, minerals, and antioxidants of Jew’s Mallow (Corchorus olitorius L.) during the two seasons of 2016 and 2017 in Egypt. Plant height, number of leaves, and fresh weight of WE10 treatment were the highest (p < 0.05) as 59.67 cm, 10.67 and 2.41 kg m−2 in 2016, respectively, and 57.33 cm, 11.00 and 2.32 kg m−2 in 2017, respectively. WE10 and USWE5 treatments produced the highest dry matter (17.07%) in 2016 and (16.97%) in 2017, respectively. WE10 plants had an increased water productivity of 41.2% relative to control plants in both seasons. The highest chlorophyll ‘a’ was recorded after the WE10 treatment in 2016 and 2017 (17.79 μg g−1 and 17.84 μg g−1, respectively). The highest levels of total antioxidant capacity, total phenolics, and total flavonoids were also recorded after the WE10 treatment. Application of WE10 boosted growth, yield, minerals, and antioxidants of Jew’s Mallow. The CROPWAT model was used to estimate the evapotranspiration, irrigation water requirements, and yield response to irrigation scheduling. Our data showed a yield reduction in the initial growth stage if a limited amount of water was provided. Therefore, irrigation water should be provided during the most important stages of crop development with the choice of effective irrigation practices to avoid water losses, as this helps to maximize yield.

Clean agriculture is vital for the future and it is supported by good agricultural practices as well as organic agriculture. The optimum use of resources in good agricultural practices minimizes the chemical inputs. Organic vegetable production is rapidly increasing around the world. Collard is a commonly used food in most of the Mediterranean diets. The current study was done during 2017 and 2018 winter seasons on collard (Brassica oleracea var. acephala) cv Georgia from Brassicaceae family, to study the effect of biofertilization using four bacterial strains of PGPB (Plant Growth Promoting Bacteria). The studied bacterial strains include Serratia marcescens (AP-4), Pseudomonas poae (AP-19), Plantibacter flavus (AP-21) and Bacillus amyloliquefaciens subsp. plantarum (AP-303) compared with the control plants. The effects of four PGPB strains on vegetative growth, yield and mineral content were tabulated. Results revealed that the treatment with AP-303 produced the highest significant values of plant height, number of leaves and leaf areas in both seasons. The highest yield was obtained from AP-303 treatment (117.78 g/plant and 117.47 g/plant, respectively), followed by AP-19 (111.41 g/plant and 109.88 g/plant, respectively). AP-4 and control treatments recorded the lowest yield in both seasons.