Titanium dioxide nanoparticles alleviate cadmium toxicity in lentil (Lens culinaris Medic) seeds

Abstract

This research was carried out with the aim of investigating the effects of different concentrations of titanium dioxide nanoparticles and cadmium on lentil seed germination and seedling early growth. The experiment was conducted as a factorial layout based on a completely randomized design with four replicates. Test plants were exposed to 0, 100, 250, and 500 ppm of cadmium, and then amended with 0, 100, 200, and 300 ppm of TiO2 nanoparticles. Results demonstrated that the application of 300 ppm of titanium dioxide nanoparticles improved the mean germination time (MGT) and seed germination rate by 39 % and 62 % respectively. Most traits exhibited a decreasing trend as the concentration of cadmium increased. Furthermore, application of 500 ppm of cadmium concentration increased mean germination time compared to the control group (1.667 day). In conclusion, the application of titanium dioxide nanoparticles averted the effect of high cadmium stress on lentils, and maintained the length of the shoot compared to the control. However, further studies on plant life cycles should be performed to detect the inhibitory effects of titanium dioxide on heavy metal toxicity.

Nano-Organic Coatings Improve Early Vigor of Brassica napus L. Seeds in Water Deficit

“…However, this influence is more significant under water stress conditions because of the limited supply of water in this situation. The combination of titanium dioxide nanoparticles and selenium dioxide nanoparticles accelerates seed germination and seedling growth at a notable level [11,29,35,36,38]. In other research, titanium dioxide nanoparticles increased the lentil seedling length [11].…”

“…Additionally, it has been reported that treating seeds with proper organic or inorganic compounds before planting, which is normally called pretreatment or priming, can improve the seed germination quality and quantity under different conditions compared to nontreated seeds [7,8]. Pretreatment of seeds is a simple and inexpensive but successful method to improve seed germination [9][10][11]. Other researchers claimed that seed pretreatment could also improve the germination and emergence percentage of seeds [12][13][14].…”

“…Nanoparticles are atomic or molecular complexes with dimensions as small as 1-100 nanometers with normally different properties compared to their original materials [37]. In this regard, the use of titanium dioxide nanoparticles has shown an increasing trend in plant production [11,29,35,36,38]. Titanium is one of the useful elements for plants that can stimulate the uptake of some nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus, calcium, magnesium, iron, manganese, and zinc depending on some biological factors, including plants species, pH, moisture, and nutrients in the soil [11,29,35,36,38].…”

“…In this regard, the use of titanium dioxide nanoparticles has shown an increasing trend in plant production [11,29,35,36,38]. Titanium is one of the useful elements for plants that can stimulate the uptake of some nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus, calcium, magnesium, iron, manganese, and zinc depending on some biological factors, including plants species, pH, moisture, and nutrients in the soil [11,29,35,36,38]. Treated with titanium dioxide nanoparticles increase rates of germination, seedling dry weight, and vigor index of old soybean seeds compared to the control [36].…”

Effects of Foliar Application of ZnO Nanoparticles on Lentil Production, Stress Level and Nutritional Seed Quality under Field Conditions

“…Several studies have evaluated NP effects on lentil production. These include biosynthesized Au-NPs [ 57 ], SiO 2 -NPs [ 58 ], TiO 2 -NPs [ 59 ], ZnO-NPs [ 60 ] and Ag-NPs [ 61 ]. The studies, however, do not consider the changes in content of nutrients such as minerals which affect final lentil seed quality.…”