Evaluation of Seaweed Extracts from Laminaria and Ascophyllum nodosum spp. as Biostimulants in Zea mays L. Using a Combination of Chemical, Biochemical and Morphological Approaches

Seaweed extracts can be employed as biostimulants during crop cultivation owing to their positive effects on plant performance. Therefore, in this study one extract from Laminaria (A) and five extracts from Ascophyllum nodosum (B–F) were assayed on maize (Zea mays L.) plants supplied for 2 days with 0.5mL L−1 of single products to evaluate their capacity to stimulate root growth and morphology, nutrition, and sugars accumulation. Firstly, extracts were chemically characterized via Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) and FT-Raman spectroscopies, and their content in carbon, nitrogen, phenolic acids and hormones (indole-3-acetic acid, IAA, and Isopentenyladenosine, IPA) was quantified. The auxin like- and gibberellic acid -like activities of all extracts were also determined. FT-IR and FT-Raman spectra provided complementary information depicting distinct spectral pattern for each extract. Bands assigned to alginic and uronic acids were dominant in FT-IR spectra, while those corresponding to polyaromatic rings were evident in FT-Raman spectra. In general, extracts stimulated root growth, nutrition, esterase activity, and sugar content. However, they showed high variation in chemical features, which may explain their different capacity in triggering physiological responses in maize. Among A. nodosum extracts for instance, E was the most efficient in promoting root morphology traits, likely because of its elevate content in IAA (32.43 nM), while F extract was the highest in phenol content (1,933mg L−1) and the most successful in improving plant nutrition. On the other hand, C extract was very effective in stimulating root elongation, but did not influence plant nutrition. B and D extracts induced similar positive effects on plants, although they greatly varied in chemical composition. Laminaria extract (A) differed from A. nodosum extracts, because of its low content in total phenols and the presence of both IAA- and GA-like activity. We conclude that all seaweed extracts acted as biostimulants in maize, but their chemical properties appeared crucial in predicting the physiological response preferentially elicited by individual seaweed extracts.