This Research Topic is part of The Role of Foliar Nutrition and Biostimulants in Increasing Crop Adaptation to Environmental Stresses series:
The Role of Foliar Nutrition and Biostimulants in Increasing Crop Adaptation to Environmental Stresses

Various environmental stresses are the main limit in prospect for extension or even conservation of cultivated area on the planet earth. In addition to specific stresses in each climate, the global climate change causes erratic rainfall, frost and heat waves which pave the way for the prevalence of a variety of environmental stresses in plants. These stresses include abiotic stresses, consisting of water temperature and soil related stresses and a variety of biotic stresses (caused by diverse microorganisms). An increase in plant adaptation to such increasing pressure by changing environment is the only way that could support more plant production on planet earth. Among various manipulations made by human in agricultural systems, foliar treatments remain less studied while showing promising in the improvement of plant function.
Foliar nutrition could support plant with necessary elements especially when the roots are under pressure by adverse soil conditions (water logging or shortage, salinity, pH etc.) while foliar biostimulants could increase plant production by improvement of plant adaptation to adverse environmental stresses. In both cases, foliar manipulation remains a much cheaper and easier method of managing the plant growth as compared to soil manipulations. Foliar sprays could even affect on nutrients acquisition by roots without any soil manipulation. Novel chelating agents could increase the effectiveness of applied absorption rate of foliar nutrients. Modern approaches to osmotic adjustment of foliar sprays could pave the way to formulating more effective foliar sprays which could reduce the spraying frequency and thus the associated costs.
However, except for known nutrients and hormonal preparations, the mechanism of effect by rest of foliar treatments (including biostimulants) remains less studied. This is while we need to have better clues about how they could alter plant response to environmental stresses in order to formulate more effective foliar combinations.
Contributions on novel chelating agents and methods that increase the absorption rate of applied nutrients are accepted. We welcome all kinds of articles on foliar biostimulants, which address the above-mentioned gaps in our current knowledge of their mechanism of action on the plant adaptation to adverse environmental situations or increase their function in optimum culture conditions.

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