Agricultural Biostimulants Market Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Global Industry Analysis: By Source (Microbial and Non-microbial), By Active Ingredient (Seaweed Extracts, Humic Substances, Vitamins & Amino Acids, Microbial Amendments, and Others), By Application (Foliar Application, Soil Treatment, and Seed Treatment), and Region Forecast 2020-2031

Agricultural Biostimulants Market size was valued at US$ 4,200 million in 2024 and is expected to reach US$ 8,800 million by 2031, growing at a significant CAGR of 9.5% from 2025-2031. Moreover, the U.S. Global Agricultural Bio stimulants Market is projected to grow significantly, reaching an estimated value of US$ 2,500 million by 2031. The market encompasses products designed to enhance plant growth, nutrient uptake, stress tolerance, and overall crop health through natural or bio-based substances. These bio stimulants include microbial inoculants, seaweed extracts, humic acids, amino acids, and other organic compounds that work by stimulating natural processes within plants and soil.

The market is driven by increasing demand for sustainable and eco-friendly farming practices aimed at improving crop yield and quality while reducing chemical fertilizer dependence. Rising awareness about soil health, regulatory support for green agriculture, and technological advancements in product formulation are further propelling market growth globally.

Facts & Figures

• Over 70% of biostimulant innovation now focuses on microbial and fermentation-based technologies, a move away from generic formulations towards mode-of-action, strain-specific solutions.
• Biostimulant regulatory frameworks are finally taking a formal shape in more than 30 nations, with the EU's 2022 Fertilising Products Regulation (FPR) serving as the global standard for efficacy and safety qualification.
• Major agri-input companies are being taken up or allied with by bio-innovators, combining old distribution clout with specialist R&D capabilities via traditional distribution channels and into new regional and niche crop markets to scale up biostimulant portfolios
• Biostimulants are being packaged with digital agronomy solutions more and more, enabling farmers to apply them more precisely by far based on soil maps, crop stage, and stress notifications, optimizing effectiveness and ROI.

Key Developments:

• In July 2025, Indian government to crack whip on unapproved products, India's Agriculture Ministry will adopt stricter verification for biostimulants, ensuring only scientifically vetted products reach farmers
• In June 2025, ICL extends its global biologicals portfolio by acquiring AI-driven biostimulant specialist Lavie Bio, gaining microbial strain libraries and cutting-edge R&D skills
• In May 2025, Mosaic Company introduces its Neptunion biostimulant, with an emphasis on crop stress tolerance to drought and salinity stress, its inaugural strategic move into the Chinese market.

Agricultural Biostimulants Market Segmentation:

Based on the source:

• Microbial
• Non- Microbial

Microbial biostimulants are becoming the most vibrant power in the market for biological inputs, delivering plant-growth stimulation that is both sustainable and specific. They are composed of beneficial mycobiota and bacteria that anchor in the rhizosphere, encourage nutrient acquisition, and enable crops to overcome abiotic stress like drought or salinity. What sets microbial biostimulants apart is that they can be flexible to various ecologies of soil and enhance plant–microbe symbiosis. Sophisticated fermentative science and strain development technology has allowed firms to commercialize stable and highly targeted microbial products. Organically and exclusively regenerative agriculture compatibility, coupled with positive regulatory permission in Europe and Latin America, sets microbial biostimulants on a high-growth trajectory as part of the larger overall biostimulants market.

Based on the active ingredients:

• Seaweed Extract
• Humic Substances
• Vitamin & Amino Acids
• Microbial Amendments
• Others

Seaweed extracts are still the most used active substances in the biostimulants market because of their universal mode of action in plant physiology. Seaweed extracts come from marine macroalgae like Ascophyllum nodosum or Laminaria genera and contain high levels of natural plant hormones, trace elements, and polysaccharides that promote root development, nutrient uptake, and resistance to stress. In contrast to synthetic inputs, seaweed-based products have unlimited compatibility across vegetable and fruit crops and climate conditions and thus are best deployable on a world scale. Their bio certification system compatibility and increased uptake in high-value vegetable and fruit crops further drive their market adoption. With increasing research backing up their mode of action, seaweed extracts remain at the center of both soil-and foliar-applied bio stimulant programs.

Based on the application:

• Foliar Application
• Soil Treatment
• Seed Treatment
• Others

The most common mode of application among the biostimulants industry is foliar spray, especially for sensitive plants and sensitive growth stages in stress. It allows for nutrient and bioactive compound uptake directly onto foliage surfaces, which initiates instant physiological responses such as boosted photosynthesis and chlorophyll synthesis. It's particularly effective at instrumental phenological phases like flowering, fruiting, or post-transplant shock. Foliar biostimulants are also an economic resource for integrated pest and nutrition management, usually being marketed in crop protection sprays. They are increasingly becoming popular in greenhouses as well as in high-value horticulture and precision agriculture production systems. With advances in formulation technology, nano-emulsions and controlled-release agents, to name a few, foliar delivery is being recognized as a high-efficiency application technology.