Foliar Application of Low Concentrations of Titanium Dioxide and Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles to the Common Sunflower under Field Conditions

Authors

Marek Kolenčík, Slovak University of Agriculture in NitraFollow
Dávid Ernst, Slovak University of Agriculture in NitraFollow
Martin Urík, Comenius University in BratislavaFollow
Ľuba Ďurišová, Slovak University of Agriculture in NitraFollow
Marek Bujdoš, Comenius University in BratislavaFollow
Martin Šebesta, Comenius University in BratislavaFollow
Edmund Dobročka, Slovak Academy of SciencesFollow
Samuel Kšiňan, Slovak University of Agriculture in NitraFollow
Ramakanth Illa, Rajiv Gandhi University of KnowledgeFollow
Qian Yu, Yunnan UniversityFollow
Huan Feng, Montclair State UniversityFollow
Ivan Černý, Slovak University of Agriculture in NitraFollow
Veronika Holišová, Palacký UniversityFollow
Gabriela Kratošová, VŠB—Technical University of OstravaFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

8-18-2020

Journal / Book Title

Nanomaterials

Abstract

Nano-fertilisers have only recently been introduced to intensify plant production, and there still remains inadequate scientific knowledge on their plant-related effects. This paper therefore compares the effects of two nano-fertilisers on common sunflower production under field conditions. The benefits arising from the foliar application of micronutrient-based zinc oxide fertiliser were compared with those from the titanium dioxide plant-growth enhancer. Both the zinc oxide (ZnO) and titanium dioxide (TiO₂) were delivered by foliar application in nano-size at a concentration of 2.6 mg·L⁻¹. The foliar-applied nanoparticles (NPs) had good crystallinity and a mean size distribution under 30 nm. There were significant differences between these two experimental treatments in the leaf surfaces’ trichomes diversity, ratio, width, and length at the flower-bud development stage. Somewhat surprisingly, our results established that the ZnO-NPs treatment induced generally better sunflower physiological responses, while the TiO₂-NPs primarily affected quantitative and nutritional parameters such as oil content and changed sunflower physiology to early maturation. There were no differences detected in titanium or zinc translocation or accumulation in the fully ripe sunflower seeds compared to the experimental controls, and our positive results therefore encourage further nano-fertiliser research.

DOI

https://doi.org/10.3390/nano10081619

MSU Digital Commons Citation

Kolenčík, Marek; Ernst, Dávid; Urík, Martin; Ďurišová, Ľuba; Bujdoš, Marek; Šebesta, Martin; Dobročka, Edmund; Kšiňan, Samuel; Illa, Ramakanth; Yu, Qian; Feng, Huan; Černý, Ivan; Holišová, Veronika; and Kratošová, Gabriela, "Foliar Application of Low Concentrations of Titanium Dioxide and Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles to the Common Sunflower under Field Conditions" (2020). Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works. 640.
https://digitalcommons.montclair.edu/earth-environ-studies-facpubs/640

Published Citation

Kolenčík, Marek, Dávid Ernst, Martin Urík, Ľuba Ďurišová, Marek Bujdoš, Martin Šebesta, Edmud Dobročka et al. "Foliar application of low concentrations of titanium dioxide and zinc oxide nanoparticles to the common sunflower under field conditions." Nanomaterials 10, no. 8 (2020): 1619.