AUTHOR=Brown Patrick , Saa Sebastian 

TITLE=Biostimulants in agriculture

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Plant Science

VOLUME=Volume 6 - 2015

YEAR=2015

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2015.00671

DOI=10.3389/fpls.2015.00671

ISSN=1664-462X

ABSTRACT=Biostimulants, which may be derived from a wide range of natural or synthetic processes, are now widely used in agriculture and yet the mode of action of these materials is not well understood.  On the basis of available literature, and based upon the diversity of biostimulant responses highlighted in this focus issue, we hypothesize that biostimulants function by directly interacting with plant signaling cascades or act through stimulation of endophytic and non-endophytic bacteria, yeast and fungi to produce molecules of benefit to the plant. The benefit of the biostimulant is derived from the reduction in assimilates that are diverted to non-productive stress response metabolism.