Everything for horticulture Personal advice from our specialists Worldwide delivery of 30 000 products
Customer service - +31 174 446 100
≡
Search your products below, and request a quote within 30 seconds
Search
Home
Shop      Knowledgecenter     Crop protection & disinfection      What are bio stimulants?


What are bio stimulants?

what are bio stimulants?
Author: Maarten Casteleijn | Latest update: 12-02-2021

Bio stimulants are increasingly being used to strengthen crops. These are products that have an effect on, in particular, the growth and resistance of plants. Bio stimulants have experienced significant growth over the last few years. These products are of natural origins, making them fit in better with an integrated crop protection system. In this article, our specialists explain more about bio stimulants.

How do biostimulants work?

Bio stimulants are products that positively influence the growth and resistance of plants, resulting a higher abiotic stress tolerance (for example, drought or heat stress) and by converting substances for easy absorption of nutrients by plants. This ultimately ensures quality improvement in the crop.

Please note: bio stimulants have no effect on biotic stress (i.e. diseases and pests). 

The advantages of bio stimulants

The use of bio stimulants has a number of advantages:
  • They contribute to a more resilient crop;
  • They contribute to an improved intake of nutritional elements;
  • They can contribute to a stronger root environment of the crop, which can lead to a better yield;
  • Bio stimulants do not have adverse effects on natural enemies and can therefore be used in an integrated crop protection strategy;
  • Bio stimulants have a small ecological footprint;
  • No MRL is left after using bio stimulants, which means they do not affect the MRL.

Please note: bio stimulants are not crop protection agents and therefore they have no direct effect against diseases and pests. They work preventively by strengthening the crop, but will not directly eliminate harmful organisms in case of high disease or pest burdens.  

Types of bio stimulants

Bio stimulants can therefore have three different effects:
  • They can reduce abiotic stress. 
  • They can improve nutrient absorption through the plant. 
  • They can contribute to improving the overall quality of the plant. 

Related products

Storage of bio stimulants

The use of bio stimulants, of course, requires consideration of storage of these products. Many crop protection agents are subject to having a registration number, which also involves special storage requirements. Unlike these chemicals, bio stimulants do not need a registration number. This means that these products do not need to be stored in chemical storage cabinets either. In practice, we still see this happening regularly, which we believe is a waste of limited space in a chemistry cabinet.

It is important when using bio stimulants to check the labels. These have information about several facts, including the action of the product, the recommended dosage, application and a number of safety aspects.
For example, it may indicate the appropriate temperature for storing the product, but also what risks the product can pose to the environment. This information not only enables the maximum benefits from the product to be obtained, but it also provides additional assurance related to safety 

Of course, for additional information about the product, the SDS can always be consulted.

Questions about bio stimulants

Do you have questions about the use of bio stimulants, or would you like individual advice? Please contact crop protection specialist Maarten Casteleijn via the form below. We will then contact you as soon as possible – on weekdays even within 24 hours.





Maarten Casteleijn About Maarten Casteleijn
Maarten Casteleijn is a product specialist in plant resistance at Royal Brinkman. In addition to experience in horticulture, he also has experience in teaching and coordinating research in the medical sector. By combining his work experiences, he can look at a problem with different perspectives and think out of the box. Maarten says that his passion is reflected in his work experience: receiving and sharing knowledge. "I have a broad interest in innovation and sustainability. Together with the grower, I want to achieve a final zero discharge by increasing plant resilience". 
Do not delete this link