Demonstrating biostimulant product applications to mitigate plant stress and improve disease resistance in chickpea

Disease symptoms were low overall, and Apron® Advance seed treatment, Heads Up biological seed treatment, and seaweed extract foliar biostimulant application did not affect visual leaf disease symptoms.

Seed treatment increased yield, plant emergence, vigour, and weed control, but the foliar biostimulant applications showed no response. The highest plant emergence, vigour, weed control, yield, and test weight were in treatments using Apron® Advance alone or with the biological seed treatment, which yielded higher than either the biological seed treatment or the untreated control.

There was no economic advantage to applying the foliar biological products or the biological seed treatment. In both years the study was conducted, treating seed with Apron® Advance was the most practical and profitable treatment. Not applying a seed treatment often negatively affected seed quality, lowered seed weight and test weight.