Hydropriming and plant-based protein hydrolysate biostimulants impact the primary and secondary metabolites of brassicaceous microgreens differentially

Interest in the sustainability of intensive agroecological systems has triggered a growing appeal to the world of biostimulants. However, the interaction of biostimulants with microgreens has not yet been investigated in detail. In our experiment, three different priming treatments (hydropriming, hereafter referred to as Water; commercial protein hydrolysate, PH1; and a new plant-derived protein hydrolysate from peanut, PH2) of the seeds of two Brassicaceae species (Mibuna and Komatsuna) grown as microgreens were compared in respect to their effects on primary and secondary metabolism. Regardless of the priming treatment, Mibuna had higher percent dry matter (7.1%) and dry weight (164.93 g m^–2 dw) but lower total ascorbic acid (71.29 mg g^–1 fw) and carotenoids (0.26 mg g^–1 fw) compared to Komatsuna. Compared to the control, biostimulant priming treatments increased the dry weight and DPPH antioxidant activity measured by UV-vis spectrophotometry.

DOI: 10.26353/j.itahort/2023.3.3747

Keywords: biostimulant, growth chamber, pigments, protected environment, protein hydrolysates, superfood