AUTHOR=Wang Jian You , Jamil Muhammad , Hossain Md. Golap , Chen Guan-Ting Erica , Berqdar Lamis , Ota Tsuyoshi , Blilou Ikram , Asami Tadao , Al-Solimani Samir Jamil , Mousa Magdi Ali Ahmed , Al-Babili Salim 

TITLE=Evaluation of the Biostimulant Activity of Zaxinone Mimics (MiZax) in Crop Plants

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Plant Science

VOLUME=13

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2022.874858

DOI=10.3389/fpls.2022.874858

ISSN=1664-462X

ABSTRACT=<p>Global food security is a critical concern that needs practical solutions to feed the expanding human population. A promising approach is the employment of biostimulants to increase crop production. Biostimulants include compounds that boost plant growth. Recently, mimics of zaxinone (MiZax) were shown to have a promising growth-promoting effect in rice (<italic>Oryza sativa</italic>). In this study, we investigated the effect of MiZax on the growth and yield of three dicot horticultural plants, namely, tomato (<italic>Solanum lycopersicum</italic>), capsicum (<italic>Capsicum annuum</italic>), and squash (<italic>Cucurbita pepo</italic>) in different growth environments, as well as on the growth and development of the monocot date palm (<italic>Phoenix dactylifera</italic>), an important crop in the Middle East. The application of MiZax significantly enhanced plant height, flower, and branch numbers, fruit size, and total fruit yield in independent field trials from 2020 to 2021. Importantly, the amount of applied MiZax was far less than that used with the commercial compound humic acid, a widely used biostimulant in horticulture. Our results indicate that MiZax have significant application potential to improve the performance and productivity of horticultural crops.</p>