PJB-2022-305
A PRELIMINARY ANALYSIS OF EFFECT OF ZINC OXIDE NANOPARTICLES ON SEED GERMINATION OF CORN (ZEA MAYS L.) TO BE USED AS NANOFERTILIZERS
Rimsha Irfan
Abstract
Nanoparticles are minute particles which have different properties. The effects of zinc oxide NPs were checked on Zea mays L. commonly known as corn or maize present in many parts of Punjab in different varieties. Corn is one of the most sensitive plants to zinc deficiency. In soils with severe zinc deficiency, a chlorotic stripe appears on one or both sides of the central veins in the first two weeks of growth. Zn is very important plant nutrient used for better growth of plant. In the present studies, ZnO nanoparticles were formed by the mixture of plant extract (black pepper) and ZnSO4 solution in different concentrations. Change in colour of the extracts indicated the formation of ZnO nanoparticles. Zinc ions were reduced to form nanoparticles. Different dilutions of nanoparticle solutions (10, 30, 50, 100 and 0 mg/L at lower concentrations and 200, 400, 600, 800 and 1000 mg/L at higher concentrations) were prepared and sprayed on the corn seeds of different replica in petriplates. The germination of seedlings was observed after 9 days. Maximum root length (15.08a±1.585cm), shoot length (4.01a±0.28cm), fresh weight (0.69a±0.07g) and dry weight (0.59a±0.05g) were observed at the 1000mg/L concentration. Chl. a content was best seen in 200mg/L solution (74.69ab±4.48mg/g). Other maximum chl. b (58.16b±4.09mg/g), carotenoids (10.27b±1.27mg/g) and total chl. (66.35a±1.32mg/g) were also best observed in the 1000mg/L concentration. It can be concluded that ZnO nanoparticles can be used as nanofertilizers in agriculture as compared to other ZnSO4 fertilizers because these are environment friendly, economical and can be easily uptake by the plants.
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