Humic Acids from Vermicompost and Eucalyptus urograndis Essential Oil: Biological Activity on Stylosanthes guianensis (Leguminosae) Seedlings

Abstract

The use of biostimulants is beneficial not only for plant growth, but also for protection against pathogen attack, symbiosis formation and multiplication of organisms important for soil microbiota. These products have uses in different areas of knowledge: commercial, ecological and agricultural. There is a strong focus on the discovery of new alternatives for the use of different biostimulants to stimulate plant growth and metabolism and this study evaluated the use of differents biostimulants (humic acids and eucalyptus essential oil), through its effects on the biological activity of Stylosanthes guianensis seedlings. The extraction of humic acids from vermicompost was done according to the protocol developed by the International Society of Humic Substances and the Eucalyptus urograndis essential oils was extracted by hydrodistillation. Each biostimulant was analyzed separately by different concentrations, evaluating characteristics related to stylosanthes plant growth. physiology and estimation of H+-ATPase activity of stylosanthes seedlings. All biostimulants had beneficial effects on different parameters evaluated, with only some particularities between them. Therefore, it can be stated that the bieostimulants used in this work generated sufficient concrete benefits on the characteristics evaluated in stylosanthes seedlings, aiming at their future use mainly in the recovery of degraded areas.

Keywords:

• Biostimulants
• plant growth
• physiology and proton pumping