"This book is what a review should be...a complete book on a hugely relevant topic...It is a preview of a new era in agricultural development that brings excitement and vast potential to tackle the challenge of feeding a growing population sustainably."Review in Bio Based Press"In addition to being well written and structured, this book is edited by some of the most prominent authors in the field of biostimulants...It meets the need for a reliable and comprehensive review on current legislation, challenges and peer-reviewed scientific results... a comprehensive guide to the potential roles of the different biostimulant categories in sustainable agriculture."Chronica HorticulturaeWith increasing concerns about the environmental impact of fertilizers, there is a growing need for the sector to develop more sustainable, 'climate-smart' methods of crop production. Biostimulants have attracted growing attention since they offer the potential to enhance yields through stimulating natural processes in crops. Biostimulants for sustainable crop production provides a comprehensive review of the key advances in understanding and using biostimulants. This collection covers the major groups of biostimulants, from humic substances and seaweed extracts to protein hydrolysates and plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR), as well as the practical application of biostimulants in areas such as enhancing nutrient use efficiency (NUE). With its distinguished editors and international range of expert authors, Biostimulants for sustainable crop production will be a standard reference for those researching crop nutrition, government and other bodies supporting more sustainable agriculture as well as agronomists and farmers.

Part 1 Introduction and biostimulant characterization1.Plant biostimulants: a new paradigm for the sustainable intensification of crops: Patrick du Jardin, Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech - University of Liège, Belgium; 2.Bioactive compounds and evaluation of biostimulant activity: Luigi Lucini and Begoña Miras-Moreno, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Italy; and Andrea Ertani, Università degli Studi di Padova, Italy; Part 2 Non-microbial and microbial categories of biostimulants3.Humic substances (HS) as plant biostimulants in agriculture: Andrea Ertani, Università degli Studi di Padova and Università degli Studi di Torino, Italy; and Michela Schiavon and Serenella Nardi, Università degli Studi di Padova, Italy; 4.Seaweed extracts as plant biostimulants in agriculture: Izabela Michalak, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Poland; Katarzyna Tyskiewicz, Marcin Konkol and Edward Rój, New Chemical Syntheses Institute, Poland; and Katarzyna Chojnacka, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Poland; 5.Biostimulant action of protein hydrolysates on crops: Giuseppe Colla, University of Tuscia, Italy; Youssef Rouphael, University of Naples Federico II, Italy; Mariateresa Cardarelli, Consiglio per la ricerca in agricoltura e l'analisi dell'economia agraria, Centro di ricerca Orticoltura e Florovivaismo, Italy; Luigi Lucini, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Italy; and Andrea Ertani, University of Turin, Italy; 6.Silicon as a biostimulant in agriculture: Wendy Zellner, The University of Toledo, USA; and Lawrence Datnoff, Louisiana State University Agricultural Center, USA; 7.Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) as plant biostimulants in agriculture: Dongmei Lya, Rachel Backer and Donald Smith, McGill University, Canada; 8.Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi as biostimulants for sustainable crop production: Michael Bitterlich, Leibniz-Institute of Vegetable and Ornamental Crops, Germany; Louis Mercy and Miguel Arato, INOQ GmbH, Germany; and Philipp Franken, Erfurt Research Centre for Horticultural Crops, University of Applied Sciences Erfurt and Institute of Microbiology, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Germany; Part 3 Innovation and practical applications9.Designing and formulating microbial and non-microbial biostimulants: Paolo Bonini, NGAlab, Spain; Veronica Cirino, Atens Agrotecnologias Naturales S.L., Spain; Helene Reynaud, Italpollina USA, USA; Youssef Rouphael, University of Naples Federico II, Italy; Mariateresa Cardarelli, CREA, Centro di ricerca Orticoltura e Florovivaismo, Italy; and Giuseppe Colla, University of Tuscia, Italy; 10.Plant biostimulants and their influence on nutrient use efficiency (NUE): Patrick H. Brown, Douglas C. Amaral, Meerae Park, Jennifer Schmidt and Amelie Gaudin, University of California-Davis, USA; 11.Combining plant biostimulants and precision agriculture: Raffaele Casa, University of Tuscia, Italy; Davide Cammarano, Purdue University, USA; Domenico Ronga, CREA, Italy; and Giuseppe Cillo, University of Teramo, Italy;