PERFORMANCE OF SUGARCANE UNDER WATER STRESS AS A FUNCTION OF VARIOUS DOSES OF SEAWEED EXTRACT

• Grant number: 24/23493-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: June 01, 2025
• End date: May 31, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Agronomy - Plant Health
• Principal Investigator: Carlos Antonio Costa Do Nascimento
• Grantee: Gustavo Munhoz Gutierres
• Host Institution: Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz (ESALQ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Piracicaba , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The use of biostimulants in agriculture has increased in recent years as a strategy to improve the plant's physiological performance, activate antioxidant metabolism and, above all, induce resistance to stresses. However, there are still doubts about its interaction with different cultivated species, the dose to be applied, the type of soil, the plant's potential response to its use, interaction with management and environmental factors, among others. The sugarcane crop, in particular, lacks studies on the plant's performance in response to biostimulants. In this context, the aim of this project is to evaluate the growth and development of sugar cane because of the application of a biostimulant such as Ascophyllum nodosum seaweed extract, under different doses and during a period of water stress. Two experiments will be carried out, the first (i) in a greenhouse with two types of soil without or with water stress induced over a certain period; and the second (ii) in field conditions. Both experiments will evaluate growth and development attributes such as plant height, diameter, number of tillers, leaf shape factor, SPAD index dynamics and biomass. The aim of this study is to verify the responsiveness of sugarcane to the biostimulant evaluated.