INFLUENCE OF BIOENGINEERED ZINC NANOPARTICLES AND ZINC METAL ON CICER ARIETINUM SEEDLINGS GROWTH
K. V. Pavani*, V. Divya, I. Veena, M. Aditya, G. V. S Devakinandan
Department of Biotechnology, Gokaraju Rangaraju Institute of Engineering
and Technology, Bachupally, Hyderabad 500090, Telangana, India
ABSTRACT
Metal nanoparticles are newly emerging alternate source of carriers to transmit and maintain the desired plant food sources available for plant growth and development. Their accumulation in agriculture lands is accompanied by both positive and negative effects on plants. Considering their impact on plants, it is necessary to evaluate them on seed germination and seedling growth. The main objective of this study was to investigate whether the treatment of Cicer arietinum seeds with relatively low concentrations of bioengineered ZnNPs and zinc metal would affect the seed germination and seedlings growth. Zinc nanoparticles were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). There were differences in germination (2%), root length (0.18cm), shoot length (0.17cm), fresh weight (0.52cm) and dry weight (0.03cm) between seeds grown in control and Zn NPs. There also existed significant differences in germination (2.67%), root length (4.94cm), shoot length (1.29cm), fresh weight (0.50cm) and dry weight (0.09cm) between seeds grown in control and ZnSO4. Cicer arietinum seeds grown in zinc nanoparticles showed increase in germination, shoot length, root length, fresh weight and dry weight, whereas seeds grown in zinc metal decreased growth. Our findings suggest that bioengineered zinc nanoparticles showed positive effect on seedlings growth.
