Recovery response mechanisms of horticultural plants to multi-stress: plant-based biostimulants as a potential alternative strategy for lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) in South Africa
Plants are subjected to severe abiotic and biotic stresses worldwide.
Global warming and climate change are increasing water scarcity and water-saving strategies, especially in coastal agricultural lands and arid and semi-arid regions, including South Africa.
A wide range of horticultural crops encounter single or combined environmental stresses such as water deficit, substrate bulk density, potting size, and wounding stress throughout the production cycle, resulting in significant yield losses.
Under these abiotic stress conditions plant physiology and biochemical regulations are governed by a complex network of interactions in hormonal pathways crosstalk between the different phytohormones.
Plant-based biostimulants have been widely reported to sustainably improve nutrient use efficiency, seed germination rate, crop performance, yield, plant nutritional quality, fresh produce shelf life, and tolerance against multiple environmental stresses.
Therefore, this short review explores the effects of these adverse multi-stress conditions on horticultural plants, as well as the recovery responses to the use of plant-based biostimulants as an alternative strategy.
Lastly, this review also provides scientific morphophysiological responses of lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) to the use of plant-based biostimulants as a potential strategy.
Satshi, S., Masowa, M.M., Van Der Watt, E. and Khetsha, Z.P. (2025). Recovery response mechanisms of horticultural plants to multi-stress: plant-based biostimulants as a potential alternative strategy for lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) in South Africa. Acta Hortic. 1416, 463-478
DOI: 10.17660/ActaHortic.2025.1416.60
https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2025.1416.60
DOI: 10.17660/ActaHortic.2025.1416.60
https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2025.1416.60
abiotic stress, horticultural crops, pot size, water deficit, wounding, bulk density
English
1416_60
463-478