The application of seaweed extracts in the agricultural production of crops and vegetables has achieved good results. It can promote seed germination, promote crop growth and development, enhance stress resistance, increase yield, and improve quality.
Seaweed contains many inorganic nutrients necessary for plant growth and is rich in plant growth substances such as amines, cytochrome C, indole compounds, and other physiologically active substances that are beneficial to plant growth. Therefore, it is increasingly used in plant production as fertilizers, pesticides, and plant growth regulator.
Uses of Seaweed Extract For Plants
Generally, natural seaweed extract is mainly used for seed soaking, foliar spraying, and soil application.
Foliar spraying is a common fertilization method in plant production. Its outstanding features are strong pertinence, low dosage, fast absorption, unaffected by soil environmental factors, high nutrient utilization, and obvious yield-increasing effects.
In addition, foliar spraying can be carried out at different growth stages, planting densities, and heights of crops, which is conducive to large-scale mechanized operations in intensive agriculture.
1. Promote Seed Germination
Seaweed extract has a significant effect on promoting seed germination. Plant Seeds treated with seaweed extract have a faster respiration rate and a significantly higher germination rate.
Under appropriate concentration conditions, it can also promote the production of crop roots, fruit development, and the growth of new organs, and promote tissue differentiation and cell growth.
2. Increase Plant Yields
The use of seaweed extract can increase the yield of various crops in varying degrees. The test results of Dora Agri on cucumbers, peppers, potatoes, apples, oranges, grapes, soybeans, corn, cotton, and other crops show that seaweed extracts can significantly increase yield. In 1984, South African horticulturists experimented with different kinds of flowers and proved that seaweed extract not only promoted the early blooming of flowers, but also significantly increased the number of flower buds, and the increase rate could reach 30%-60%.
In our country, Doraagri used tomatoes, rice, wheat, vegetables, and tobacco for experiments, and achieved a 10% to 30% increase in yield. The results of experiments in the greenhouse showed that the plant height, stem thickness, average fruit setting rate, and yield of tomatoes applied with seaweed extract were significantly increased than the control group.
2. Increase Plant Quality
The application of seaweed extract can improve the quality of agricultural products to varying degrees. Dora Agri’s experiments on cucumbers showed that high-quality melons increased by 22.7% compared with the CK group, and inferior melons decreased by 20.4% compared with CK, and the taste was better.
It can improve the appearance quality (color) of carrots; it can reduce the crude fiber content of celery, increase the organic acid content and soluble solid content of tomato, and increase the Vc content.
The use of seaweed extract on peaches can increase the weight and firmness of each fruit, and increase the soluble solid content of the fruit. After applying seaweed extract on the Dutch pepper, the fruit shape is square and the deformed fruit is fewer.
3. Enhance Crop Resistance
Apply seaweed extract to peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplants, rape, carrots, and other vegetables.
It has a positive effect on improving its resistance to adversity. The application of seaweed fertilizer can improve the disease resistance of crops, increase the antiviral efficiency of tobacco mosaic virus, reduce the incidence of tomato gray mold, and reduce the disease of rice blast.
In addition, the mixed-use of seaweed extracts and chemical fertilizers can improve the soil structure while enhancing the fertilizer efficiency, and enhance the soil’s ability to breathe and retain water. Compared with ordinary fertilizers, seaweed fertilizer is more efficient, easy to absorb, and environmentally friendly.
4. Use as Plant Growth Regulator
The main active substances in seaweed and seaweed plant growth regulators are auxin (IAA & IBA), cytokinin, gibberellin, abscisic acid, ethylene, betaine.
These physiologically active substances can directly participate in the transportation of organic and inorganic substances in plants. Their existence strengthens the absorption of nutrients by crops, and at the same time stimulates the production of non-specific active factors in plants and regulates the balance of endogenous hormones, which is important for plant growth.
5. Use as Pesticide
The seaweed has a protein component that has an inhibitory effect on Banana Colletotrichum. According to research, seaweed extract has a good inactivation effect on the tomato CMV virus and prevents CMV infection.
After the crop is inoculated with CMV virus and then applied with seaweed extract, the SOD and POD enzyme activities of the diseased plant are significantly increased, and the virus content of the diseased plant is significantly reduced, and the damage of the virus to the chloroplast is reduced.
The use of seaweed extracts in agriculture provides new ideas and solutions for sustainable agriculture, and is widely used in organic agricultural production, and has gradually become a great tool for improving the quality and efficiency of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. For more details or feedbacks on seaweed extract products, please contact our team.