Biosynthesized Zinc Nanoparticles and their Plant Growth-Promoting Effect on Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) Cultivation

Abstract

The zinc nanoparticles were biosynthesized using Pseudomonas and actinobacteria and characterized through UV-Visible spectroscopy, Particle Size Analyzer (PSA), Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), (EDX), X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). After biosynthesis and characterization of the nanoparticles (NPs), a field experiment was conducted to know the effect of biosynthesized zinc nanoparticles on wheat crop. In wheat seed priming at 500 ppm and foliar spraying at 500 ppm at panicle initiation stage with zinc nanoparticles biosynthesized through actinobacteria (T6) increased the plant height (25.75%), number of tillers per meter row length (35.98%), leaf area (25.84%), leaf area index (25.75%), total dry matter production (36.46%), productive spikes per square meter (16.98%), number of grains per spike (27.29%), grain weight per spike (30.71), 1,000 grain weight (10.43%), grain yield (17.58%) and straw yield (14.59%) than seed priming at 500 ppm and foliar spraying at 500 ppm at panicle initiation stage with zinc nanoparticles biosynthesized through Pseudomonas (T3) and commercial zinc nanoparticles (T9). Farmers can replace the conventional zinc source with nano forms to obtain the higher yield and yield attributing characteristics, where biosynthesized nanoparticles could be alternative to chemical nanoparticles in terms of high cost and pollution hazards.