Background:

Organic agriculture is based on the optimal use of natural resources, which helps to increase the biological activity of the soil naturally without using chemical compounds that can alter the soil, crops and aquifers. Some macroalgae have the potential to be used as bio-stimulants or soil conditioners.

Goals:

evaluate the potential of macroalgae as bio-stimulants or soil conditioners, through the evaluation of the growth of two species of importance as fodder or feed and the analysis of soil composition. In this study, eight macroalgae from the coasts of Veracruz, Mexico were tested.

Method:

They were added to the soil in the form of fragments and liquid extract around Trifolium repens (white clover) and Triticum aestivum (wheat) plants. A randomized design with four replicates was followed. Two treatments with algae-based stimulants, a chemical fertilizer and a growth hormone concentrate, and a distilled water control were used. Growth was recorded every other day.

Results:

showed that three of eight algae promoted growth (p<0.05). For wheat they were Acantophora spicifera (extract treatment and fragment treatment) and Ulva lactuca (= Ulva fasciata Delile) and Palisada perforata (fragment treatment); for white clover they were Acantophora spicifera (extract treatment) and Palisada perforata (fragment treatment), compared to chemical fertilizer (Bayfolan forte) and plant hormone control (Agromil V) and water.

Conclusions:

since the plants of the stimulant treatments grew less or the same as with the algae treatments, it is concluded that there is potential in the algae studied for using them as promoters for plant growth of crops with commercial interest, improving soil quality.