Seaweed & Drought Tolerance in Bedding Plants

Jennifer Duffield White

Could drenching your plants with seaweed increase their drought tolerance? In some cases, yes.

A new study from Neil Mattson at Cornell University tested out a commercial extract of seaweed called Stimplex, which is used to enhance root and shoot growth in young seedlings. Past studies also found that some flowers and vegetables treated with Stimplex took longer to succumb to wilt. Thus, this new study set out to see how plants performed in a simulated, water-stressed retail environment.

The good news was that Stimplex-treated petunias and tomatoes took significantly longer to wilt in a drought environment. (Snapdragons had less dramatic results.) That means, drenching with the seaweed extract in the greenhouse might improve shelf life and shrinkage at retail for some crops. They also noted that treated tomatoes had increased stem strength.

You can read a full summary of the research at http://e-gro.org/pdf/Mattson_SWE_2015_1.pdf. GT