Sustainable Agriculture Systems in Vegetable Production Using Chitin and Chitosan as Plant Biostimulants

Resumo

Quitina e quitosana são compostos naturais biodegradáveis e não tóxicos que têm ganhado atenção devido à sua contribuição eficaz para o aumento da produtividade e sustentabilidade agroambiental. Diversos efeitos têm sido relatados para a aplicação de quitosana em plantas, incluindo uso em sistemas de defesa contra estresses biológicos e ambientais, promoção do crescimento vegetal, aumento da condutância estomática, redução da transpiração, uso como revestimento de sementes, promoção de microrganismos quitinolíticos, prolongamento da vida útil pós-colheita, melhoria na entrega de nutrientes e remediação de solos poluídos. A quitina também promove o crescimento vegetal, melhora a nutrição e modula a resistência a estresses. Esta revisão apresenta uma visão geral da literatura sobre os efeitos desses compostos em culturas hortícolas, destacando seu papel na produção agrícola sustentável, limitações e perspectivas futuras.

Abstract

Chitin and chitosan are natural compounds that are biodegradable and nontoxic and have gained noticeable attention due to their effective contribution to increased yield and agroenvironmental sustainability. Several effects have been reported for chitosan application in plants. Particularly, it can be used in plant defense systems against biological and environmental stress conditions and as a plant growth promoter—it can increase stomatal conductance and reduce transpiration or be applied as a coating material in seeds. Moreover, it can be effective in promoting chitinolytic microorganisms and prolonging storage life through post-harvest treatments, or benefit nutrient delivery to plants since it may prevent leaching and improve slow release of nutrients in fertilizers. Finally, it can remediate polluted soils through the removal of cationic and anionic heavy metals and the improvement of soil properties. On the other hand, chitin also has many beneficial effects such as plant growth promotion, improved plant nutrition and ability to modulate and improve plants’ resistance to abiotic and biotic stressors. The present review presents a literature overview regarding the effects of chitin, chitosan and derivatives on horticultural crops, highlighting their important role in modern sustainable crop production; the main limitations as well as the future prospects of applications of this particular biostimulant category are also presented.