The use of biostimulants in agriculture is increasing; however, their effects on raspberry remain insufficiently understood. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of foliar-applied biostimulants on yield and growth in three primocane raspberry cultivars grown under field conditions using multispectral imaging based on unmanned aerial vehicles. An experiment included a control and four foliar biostimulant treatments based on animal-derived amino acids, plant-derived amino acids, seaweed extract, and seaweed extract combined with animal-derived amino acids. Biostimulant effects on primocane raspberry were found to vary substantially depending on cultivar, environmental conditions, and formulation type, with measurable impacts on both yield formation and vegetative growth. These responses were further supported and characterized using multispectral UAV-based mutlispectral imaging, which enabled effective detection of treatment-related physiological changes. This approach was based on the analysis of relative percentage changes between consecutive measurements of selected vegetation indices, allowing the identification of dynamic physiological responses over time. These findings highlight the need for a more targeted approach to biostimulant use, taking into account cultivar-specific responses and environmental variability. Future research should extend this framework to a broader range of genotypes, cultivation systems, and biostimulant formulations, while integrating remote sensing with other analytical methods to better understand plant physiological responses. Such developments may support the transition toward data-driven and precision-guided biostimulant application strategies in sustainable crop production.
Buczyński et al. (Thu,) studied this question.