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Sage (Salvia officinalis L.) is a medicinal and aromatic plant (MAP) belonging to the Lamiaceae family.The morphological, productive and chemical characteristics of this species are affected by abiotic and biotic factors [1]. The application of biostimulants seems to be one of the most interesting innovative practices due to fact they represent a promising approach for achieving sustainable and organic agriculture [2]. Despite a large application in horticulture, the use of biostimulants on MAPs has been poorly investigated. On this basis, a field experiment in a 2-year study was done to assess the effect of foliar treatments with different types of biostimulants (containing seaweeds, fulvic acids and protein hydrolysates) on the main characteristics of sage organically grown in a Mediterranean environment. Morphological, productive, and chemical parameters were significantly affected by biostimulants. The application of three biostimulants produced higher values of plant height, chlorophyll content, relative water content, biomass yield and essential oil yield compared to those of control. In treated-plants with fulvic acid and protein hydrolysates, the highest total fresh yields (between 3.9 and 8.7 t ha-1) and total dry yields (between 1.3 and 2.5 t ha-1) were found. The essential oil yield almost doubled with protein hydrolysates application (33.9 kg ha-1) compared with control. In this study, 44 essential oil compounds were identified. The highest percentage of the most representative monoterpenes (1,8-cineole, α-thujone and camphor) were observed in biostimulated plants, with an average increases between 6% and 35% compared to control. The highest values for total phenolics, rosmarinic acid, antioxidant activity were, instead, obtained in the control. This study emphasizes how the application of biostimulants may be exploited to improve the yield performance of sage, and the essential oil quality. At the same time, biostimulants caused a decrease in total phenolic, antioxidant activity and rosmarinic acid values.
