Canola and cucumber responses to activeflower

农作物植物需要广泛的集约化农业投入，包括肥料施用、灌溉、农药、生长调节剂以及其他合成和有机产品。植物生长所需的营养素被配制成肥料，便于应用和稳定。在许多情况下，需要大量营养素和微量营养素的组合来提供最佳的植物生长。植物所需的主要常量营养素是氮（N）、磷（P）和钾（K）。微量营养素包括铜（Cu）、铁（Fe）、锰（Mn）、钼（Mo）、锌（Zn）和硼（B）（9）。研究表明，作物产量增加30%至50%归因于使用天然或合成的商业肥料。细胞壁变厚，或合成天然防御化合物，即植物抗毒素、抗氧化剂和类黄酮。在之前的NSERC Engage项目中，我们证明了含有N、P、K和B组合的PollinAID的应用通过对病原体的直接毒性或通过促进诱导抗性来减少病原体生长和对植物的损害。组织中酚类物质含量增加，B含量显著增加。为了进一步研究PollinAID（现为Active Flower）的作用，我们建议评估每种营养成分对黄瓜和油菜植物生长和疾病发展的影响。此外，还将评估抗氧化剂和各种酶的水平，包括多酚氧化酶、过氧化氢酶、过氧化物酶，这些酶已知在其他植物物种中具有减少疾病的作用。这些结果将为了解这种肥料产品如何影响植物生长的机制提供更多的见解，并应进一步加深我们对真菌-植物相互作用的了解，并提供新的信息。预计2017年全球化肥市场销售额将超过1850亿美元。因此，更好地了解这些化学品如何间接影响作物健康，可以为作物生产和作物保护提供更多的优化使用肥料的机会。

Agricultural crop plants require a wide range of intensive agricultural inputs, which include fertilizerapplications, irrigation, pesticides, growth regulators and other synthetic and organic products. Nutrientsrequired for plant growth are formulated as fertilizers for ease of application and stability. In many cases, acombination of macronutrients and micronutrients are required to provide optimal plant growth. The mainmacronutrients required by plants are nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K). Micronutrients includecopper (Cu), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), molybdenum (Mo), zinc (Zn), and boron (B) (9). Studies have shownthat crop yield increases of 30 to 50% are attributed to use of natural or synthetic commercial fertilizers.Mineral nutrition can affect plant growth and disease development by increasing formation of mechanicalbarriers, eg. development of thicker cell walls, or synthesis of natural defense compounds, i.e. phytoalexins,antioxidants, and flavonoids. In the previous NSERC Engage project, we demonstrated that applications ofPollinAID, containing a combination of N, P, K, and B, reduced pathogen growth and damage to the plantthrough either direct toxicity to the pathogen or by promoting induced resistance. Levels of phenolics wereincreased and B levels in tissues significantly increased. To further investigate the role of PollinAID (nowActive Flower), we propose to assess the effects of each of the individual nutrient components on plant growthand disease development on cucumber and canola plants. In addition, the levels of antioxidants and variousenzymes, including polyphenoloxidase, catalase, peroxidase, that are known to have a role in disease reductionin other plant species, will be assessed. The results will provide additional insight into the mechanisms of howthis fertilizer product affects plant growth and should further our knowledge on fungal-plant interactions andprovide novel information. Global market estimates for fertilizer sales are projected to exceed US $185 billionin 2017. Hence, a better understanding of how these chemicals may indirectly influence crop health can provideadditional opportunities for optimal use of fertilizers for crop production and crop protection.