Biostimulants are innovative organic tools, which promote the growth, plant development, production, and quality of various crops without harming the environment; however, the effects of biostimulants on the production of tomato needed to be explored further under open field conditions. Based on this view, this study’s objective was to assess the impact of Kendal Root, a biostimulant-containing seaweed, Ascophyllum nodosum, and plant extracts on the phytomorpho-physiological, yield, and quality of tomato. Three doses of Kendal Root (2.5, 5.0, and 10 L ha⁻¹) were given as soil drenching, and the results were compared with control. Generally, the Kendal Root treatments positively improved the growth, physiological, yield, and quality attributes of tomato. However, among the three different concentrations, Kendal Root 5.0 L ha⁻¹ significantly improved the plant growth and physiological aspects of tomato, such as plant height, leaf area, shoot and root dry weight, SPAD value, and gas exchange parameters. Considering the yield traits, the Kendal Root 5.0 L ha⁻¹ application significantly improved the tomato fruit number, yield per plant, and yield per hectare. Conversely, flower number per plant and average fruit weight was not remarkably improved by Kendal Root 5.0 L ha⁻¹. Moreover, Kendal Root 5.0 L ha⁻¹ positively improved the quality traits of tomato, including total soluble solids, ascorbic acid content, lycopene, and total sugars than the titratable acidity content of tomato fruits. Hence, the integration of Kendal Root biostimulant in tomato production could be an effective way to boost plant growth, production, and quality of tomato.

Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi are well known symbiotic microorganism found to improve the growth of host plant by mobilizing immobile nutrients, mainly phosphorus, from the soil. However, the effect of AM fungi on host plant growth depends on the percentage mycorrhizal colonization, whereas it is not clear that the percent mycorrhization impacts by AM fungal spore abundance of the inoculum. Therefore, the current investigation was conducted to know the effect of percent mycorrhization of Glomus intraradices on the growth of blackgram inoculated with varied numbers of AM fungal spores via seed biotization (1 to 10 AM fungal spores per seed). Percent mycorrhizal colonization and plant growth characteristics of blackgram were recorded after 10, 20 and 30 days of sowing (DOS). Our results are revealed that the percentage of mycorrhizal colonization significantly influenced based on the availability of AM fungal spore richness of the biotized seeds, which leads to altered crop growth. Percent mycorrhizal colonization in the roots of blackgram increased with increasing AM fungal spore abundance per seed and it ranges from 10 to 70 %. Moreover, mycorrhizal colonized plants recorded higher shoot and root length, leaf area, leaf area index, shoot and root biomass production as well as chlorophyll content over control, conversely it was increased further with increasing percent mycorrhizal colonization, which is directly proportional to the richness of the AM fungal spores per seed. Therefore, AM fungal spore abundance is one of the governing factors that influence percent mycorrhizal colonization in roots of plants besides AM fungal and plant species and soil condition.

This study aimed to evaluate the potential of Bacillus megaterium in improvingseed germination and rice seedling's morpho-physiological andbiochemical traits. The experiment was conducted using a completely randomizeddesign to evaluate the effect of different concentrations of the biostimulantB. megaterium on rice seedlings growth and development undernursery conditions. Biopriming seeds with B. megaterium significantly enhancedseed germination and seedling traits, such as seedling shoot androot length, seedling height, number of leaves, seedling vigor, and shootand root dry biomass, compared to the untreated control. Among the treatments,biopriming seeds with B. megaterium at a concentration of 10g kg-1resulted in the greatest improvements across all the recorded parameters.Root traits such as total root length, surface area, average root diameter,root volume, and root tips and forks were also significantly enhanced. Additionally,biochemical changes like total chlorophyll and soluble protein contentshowed notable improvements with the concentration of B. megaterium. Hence, these results suggest that biopriming seeds with B. megateriumare an efficient strategy to improve seed germination and shoot and rootvigor in rice seedlings.

Cotton is primarily cultivated for its commercial fiber, which plays a significant role in India’s agro-industrial sector. It is one of the primary raw materials for producing feed, oil, fiber, and biofuel. Currently, farmers in India widely employ machine harvesters to harvest cotton. However, excessive leaf vegetation poses challenges in boll picking, adversely affecting fiber quality and reducing mechanical harvesting efficiency. Various chemical defoliants are applied to remove leaves before harvesting to address this issue. These defoliants promote leaf shedding, minimize debris in the cotton, and enhance boll opening and picking efficiency. Thidiazuron is a potent hormonal defoliant used in cotton to induce defoliation by increasing ethylene production while inhibiting the synthesis and transport of auxins. Notably, it interferes with the crosstalk between the phytohormones, such as cytokinin and ethylene, which regulates cotton defoliation. The method and timing of defoliant application are crucial for improving cotton harvesting efficiency. This review aims to provide a clear understanding of thidiazuron’s application in synchronizing harvests, ultimately supporting the mechanization of cotton harvesting.