Protective potential of selected microbial and non-microbial biostimulants against leaf blotch in winter wheat as affected by the form of N supply.

Introduction: The production of high-quality food for the growing world population on the one hand and the reduction of chemical-synthetic pesticides on the other hand represents a major challenge for agriculture worldwide. The effectiveness of a combination of microbial and non-microbial biostimulants (BSs) with various nitrogen (N) forms in pathogen defense is discussed as a promising, but still poorly understood bio-based alternative for crop protection.

Methods: For this reason, nitrate and stabilized ammonium fertilizer both combined with a consortium of , , and as soil treatment or with a mixture of seaweed extract () together with chitosan-amended micronutrient fertilizer as foliar spray application were compared under controlled greenhouse conditions.