The widespread use of harmful pesticides to boost crop yield is common in modern agriculture. However, biostimulants offer an eco-friendly alternative that can reduce reliance on chemical fertilizers. Amino acid-based biostimulants are particularly promising due to their biodegradability and positive impact on plant growth. Polyaspartic acid (PAA) is an example of this type of additive that has been shown to retain/improve crop parameters at lowered nutrient levels. Our part in this collaborative project is to track and quantify PAA in plant growth media (agar gel) using spectroscopic techniques (UV-vis, fluorescence, etc.). Reported here is our initial methodology for performing these measurements and our steps to optimize the process into an efficient and reproducible protocol. Ultimately, understanding PAA’s influence on nutrient absorption, this research aims to contribute to the development of sustainable agricultural practices.
