Cu-Chitosan Nanoparticle Mediated Sustainable Approach To Enhance Seedling Growth in Maize by Mobilizing Reserved Food

Abstract

Food crop seedlings often have susceptibility to various abiotic and biotic stresses. Therefore, in the present study, we investigated the impact of Cu-chitosan nanoparticles (NPs) on physiological and biochemical changes during maize seedling growth. Higher values of percent germination, shoot and root length, root number, seedling length, fresh and dry weight, and seed vigor index were obtained at 0.04-0.12% concentrations of Cu-chitosan NPs as compared to water, CuSO4, and bulk chitosan treatments. Cu-chitosan NPs at the same concentrations induced the activities of α-amylase and protease enzymes and also increased the total protein content in germinating seeds. The increased activities of α-amylase and protease enzymes corroborated with decreased content of starch and protein, respectively, in the germinating seeds. Cu-chitosan NPs at 0.16% and CuSO4 at 0.01% concentrations showed inhibitory effect on seedling growth. The observed results on seedling growth could be explained by the toxicity of excess Cu and growth promotory effect of Cu-chitosan NPs. Physiological and biochemical studies suggest that Cu-chitosan NPs enhance the seedling growth of maize by mobilizing the reserved food, primarily starch, through the higher activity of α-amylase.

Synthesis and characterization of chitosan–copper nanocomposites and their fungicidal activity against two sclerotia-forming plant pathogenic fungi

“…Chitosan-Cu nanonetwork is evident through a higher Cu accumulation in porous area which supports the ion-exchange resins and surface chelating mechanism [12]. Cu-chitosan nanocomposite has a weighty effect on plant cells as they easily pass into the seeds along with encapsulated Cu and participate strongly in the metabolism of germinating seeds [13]. These studies strongly hypothesize a cumulative effect of chitosan elicitors to induce defense enzymes and direct Cu ions toxicity towards fungi.…”

“…The improved antimicrobial activity of Cu NPs as compared to copper salt is due to their unique property, i.e., large surface area to volume ratio [9]. Recently, the investigations showed that incorporation of Cu NPs into chitosan matrice significantly enhanced its antimicrobial and antifungal activity [10][11][12][13]. The Cu@Chit NCs can combine the properties of biopolymer and nanosized copper; therefore, their application can be more effective than separately.…”

Graphene oxide loaded with copper oxide nanoparticles as an antibacterial agent against Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato

“…18,19 In addition, it was reported that Cu NPs were benecial to growth and nutriment accumulation of Vigna radiate and maize. 20,21 However, pure Cu NPs are easy to agglomerate, leading to decrease of antibacterial activity. 22 In order to address this problem, we are searching for a suitablybased material to reduce the agglomeration of Cu NPs.…”

Enhanced plant growth promoting role of mPEG‐PLGA‐based nanoparticles as an activator protein PeaT1 carrier in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

“…The root length, straw height and seedling length of the wheat plants were measured and recorded daily. Seed vigor index (SVI) was calculated on day 10 using the following equation: SVI = [germination (%)] × [seedling length (cm)] . Fresh weights were measured respectively after 2 weeks of growth and dry weights were calculated according to the moisture contents which were determined by a moisture analyzer (MB23, Ohaus Corporation, Shanghai, China).…”