Nanotechnology in Plant Growth Promotion and Protection. Группа авторов
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Application of TiO2NPs on seeds may help with germination through better water uptake and oxygen absorption (Zheng et al. 2005; Feizi et al. 2013a,b) and plant protection due to antimicrobial and antifungal effects of TiO2NPs (Navarro et al. 2008). This may be a good approach for plants having seed germination problems such as medical herbs (Feizi et al. 2013b).
Throughout the various growth stages of plants, both foliar and soil applications of TiO2NPs were shown to improve the plant growth, through improvements in root and shoot elongation, root and shoot biomass, increased number of root nodules, increased yield of seeds, fruits, or other plant parts involved in food production. Besides, other improvements in plant health, like an increase in chlorophyll production, production of soluble leaf protein, and several amino acids were also recorded. At right concentrations, an increase in essential macronutrients (N, P, K, Na, and Ca), and micronutrients (Fe, Mn, and Zn) was observed (Kužel et al. 2003; Yang et al. 2006; Raliya et al. 2015a,b; Tan et al. 2017). This may be beneficial for agriculture and the environment, since it decreases the requirement of fertilizers. Plants were also shown to have increased resistance to draught after the application of TiO2NPs. A foliar spray may also help in the reduction in uptake of toxic elements such as Cd (Lian et al. 2020). Another avenue of TiO2NPs application is its potential pesticidal properties. TiO2NPs were used to protect plants against cotton leafworms (Shaker et al. 2017), Cercospora leaf spot, brown blotch, Curvularia leaf spot, and bacterial leaf blight (Owolade and Ogunleti 2008).
Although TiO2NPs can be used alone to inhibit crop pests, its composite formulae can be promisingly utilized to protect plants against various crop diseases. These nanopesticides utilize nanoparticles in several ways. The nanoparticles are used as carriers that help with distribution, dispersity, and wettability of plant surface and they increase pesticide's adhesion (Rajwade et al. 2020). The improved effect of pesticides by nanoformulations with TiO2 is not the only benefit these composites provide. Degradability in the soil of these nano‐pesticides is also an important aspect and photocatalytic properties of TiO2NPs were utilized to increase the decomposition of these pesticides in soil (Yan et al. 2005; Guan et al. 2010; Mohamed and Khairou 2011).
2.6 Conclusion and Future Perspective
The application of TiO2NPs for crop enhancement is a relatively new phenomenon. The available reports clearly indicated that TiO2NPs influence and enhance plant growth. Most of the studies were done on germination or influence on young plants. The longer duration experiments with plants are still uncommon and the shortage of life cycle studies and multi‐generation studies leaves many unanswered questions. Other avenue that needs more research is the influence of soil types on the interaction between TiO2NPs and plants. Interaction between soils and nanoparticles is complex and can differ for particles of different sizes and coating. Measuring quantitative and qualitative uptake by plants can also provide more insight. Four areas of research need more focus in the following years.
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