Application of Iron Oxide Nanoparticles as Micronutrient Fertilizer in Mulberry Propagation

Nanomaterials are practically used in every aspects of modern life, agriculture is one of them. The aim of this study was to evaluate the bio-effectiveness of iron oxide and EDTA functionalized iron oxide nanoparticles as a nano-micronutrient fertilizer to replace traditional Fe-fertilizer. The responses of these fertilizers were evaluated on growth and development of mulberry (Morus alba L.) plants in a pot experiment. Iron oxide nanoparticles and its EDTA functionalized form had been applied in two different dosage (10 and 50 mg/kg soil) by both soil application and foliar spray. Applications of these green synthesized nanoparticles showed an increased influence on morpho-physiochemical attributes in treated plants. Iron oxide nanoparticles application at a rate of 10 mg/kg in soil significantly improved morphological traits like sprouting percentage, number of leaves (52.73% improved over control), plant biomass (37.20% and 90.24% increase of shoot and root biomass over control, respectively), root attributes (34% increment for root length) and also shortened the first leaf appearance period. The same treatment showed an improvement of 42% and 15% over control in case of chlorophyll and sugar content, respectively. Efficacy of antioxidant enzymes like CAT, POD and NOX were also found to be enhanced over control. Together, these results showed that our treated nanoparticles could replace traditional Fe-fertilizer in the cultivation and propagation of mulberry crop. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on the effect of iron oxide nanoparticles and EDTA functionalized iron oxide nanoparticles as a nano-micronutrient fertilizer on mulberry growth and yield.