Enriching NPK Mineral Fertilizer with Plant-Stimulating Peptides Increases Soilless Tomato Production, Grower Profit, and Environmental Sustainability

TL;DR

Adding plant-based peptides to fertilizer boosts tomato yields, grower profits, and reduces environmental impact in soilless farming.

Contribution

Demonstrates that enriched NPK fertilizer with plant peptides improves production and sustainability in hydroponic tomato cultivation.

Findings

Cerbero Green® increased marketable tomato yields even at reduced fertilizer rates.

Use of Cerbero Green® improved grower profits and reduced environmental impact by up to 8%.

Natural biostimulants enhance economic and environmental sustainability in horticulture.

Abstract

The need to increase agricultural production to feed a steadily growing population may clash with the more environmentally friendly but less efficient production methods required. Therefore, it is important to try to reduce the use of chemical inputs without compromising production. In this scenario, natural biostimulants have become one of the most sought-after and researched technologies. In the present study, the results of a greenhouse experiment on hydroponic tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum L.) are presented, which involved comparing the use of ordinary NPK fertilizer (Cerbero®) with the use of NPK fertilizers enriched with 0.5% protein hydrolysate of plant origin (Cerbero Green®) at both standard (100%) and reduced (70%) fertilization rates. The results highlight how the use of Cerbero Green® fertilizers improves the production performance of tomatoes. More specifically, they show that the use of Cerbero Green® leads to higher marketable yields, especially under reducing fertilizer use, ensuring a positive net change in profit for the grower. In addition, carbon footprint analysis has revealed that the use of Cerbero Green® reduces the environmental impact of hydroponic tomato growing practices by up to 8%. The observed higher yield of hydroponically grown tomatoes even with reduced fertilization rates underlines once again the key role of natural biostimulants in increasing both the economic and environmental sustainability of horticultural production.

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