Biostimulant product types

The most common product types used in the UK are summarised in the tables below.

Group: Non-microbial
Product type	Description of the product types
Seaweed extracts	Extracted from seaweed
Humic substances	Extracted from decayed plant or animal material (e.g. humic or fulvic acids)
Phosphite and other inorganic salts	Salts that do not contain carbon. Phosphite (PO₃) is a commonly used inorganic salt
Chitin and chitosan derivatives	Chitin is an abundant natural polysaccharide obtained from crustaceans. Chitosan is derived from chitin
Antitranspirants	Products that reduce transpiration by plants (e.g. abscisic acid and waxes)
Protein hydrolysates and free amino acids	Protein hydrolysates are produced from animal and plant residues. Free amino acids are obtained through enzymatic breakdown of agro-industrial by-products Note: Biostimulants derived from mammalian tissue by-products, such as pork and beef materials, might not be acceptable to customers/buyers
Complex organic materials	Broad range of products that contain material derived from the remains of organisms (e.g. plants)

Group: Microbial
Product type	Description of the product types
Plant growth promoting bacteria	Bacteria that potentially benefit plant growth (e.g. Bacillus/Rhizobia spp.)
Non-pathogenic fungi	A wide range of fungal species that have no direct pathogenic effect on plants (e.g. Trichoderma spp.)
Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi	Common type of endomycorrhizal fungus that forms a symbiotic association with plant roots (e.g. Rhizophagus irregularis)
Protozoa and nematodes	Protozoa are single-celled rhizosphere organisms. Nematodes are non-segmented worms

Topics:

Nutrition

Sectors:

Cereals & Oilseeds Horticulture

Tags:

microbial seaweed extracts humic substances phosphite inorganic salts chitin chitosan protein hydrolysates free amino acids plant growth promoting bacteria non-pathogenic fungi arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi