Effects of carbon nanoparticles application on the growth, physiological characteristics and nutrient accumulation in tobacco plants

In recent years, the biological and agricultural applications of nanomaterials have gained increasing interest. Carbon nanotubes have shown promise as regulators of seed germination and plant growth. However, little attention has been paid to the nutrient absorption of plants with the presence of nanomaterials. In the present study, the flue-cured tobacco cultivar Zhongyan100 was used in a pot experiment to examine the effects of the application of carbon nanoparticles (CNPs) on the growth and nutrient accumulation of plants. Four treatments with CNP amounts of 0, 25, 75 and 125 mg pot -1 were used. The physiological characteristics and nutrient accumulation of flue-cured tobacco were studied. The application of CNPs improved the growth of tobacco plant by increasing the height, leaf area and dry matter accumulation. The height increased by 6.33%, 10.56% and 10.00%, whereas the leaf area increased by 6.64%, 19.51% and 21.58% at the maturity stage. The application of CNPs also increased the contents of chlorophyll and soluble protein of leaves, which are important factors of growth improvement in tobacco plant. Furthermore, the application of CNPs increased the contents of nitrogen and potassium in tobacco plant organs. The potassium content of tobacco leaves increased by 21.05%, 25.26% and 36.84% at the maturity stage, which was beneficial to quality improvement of tobacco. The nutrition absorption efficiency and nutrient accumulation amounts of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium evidently increased by T3 in tobacco plant. The application of CNPs promoted tobacco plant growth and increased nutrition absorption and accumulation amount, thereby increasing fertilizer efficiency and improving tobacco quality.