Ecology, Environment and Conservation Paper


Vol.30, Issue 3, 2024

Page Number: 1311-1321

IMPACT OF RICE (ORYZA SATIVA L.) TO NANO ZINC OXIDE FOR ENHANCING PRODUCTIVITY, NUTRIENT USE EFFICIENCY AND GRAIN QUALITY

Melekote Nagabhushan Arun, Rapolu Mahender Kumar, Banugu Sreedevi, Guntupalli Padmavathi, Khushboo Chandra, Gowrajji Rajappa Denesh, Hombalegowdanadoddi Ramanna Savitha, Pallakonda Revathi, Neha Pathak and Raman Meenakshi Sundaram

Abstract

Rice is cereal staple food crop for more than half of the world’s population and grown in more than 100 countries with 90% of the total global production from Asia. Zinc is a key micronutrient for rice crop playing a significant role in metabolic processes such as photosynthesis and respiration. It is one an essential component for plant growth and development. Zinc in the soil exceed the crop needs but cannot readily be absorbed by plants due to their presence in non-available forms or leaching losses. The insufficient availability of Zinc leads to deterioration in plant growth and quality parameters in rice crop and which needs to be corrected through novel approaches other than the routinely adopted soil and foliar application of Zinc fertilizers. Zinc oxide nanoparticles have been applied widely in agriculture since it promotes photosynthesis, carbohydrate and phosphorus metabolism of plants and promotes the development of grain. Thus, ZnO nanofertilizers, due to their tailored structural properties, demonstrate higher translocation over the mineral and chelated forms of nutrient fertilizers enhances grain yield and nutrient use efficiency. Hence, the foliar application of ZnO nanoparticles proves to be a feasible and viable option for the enrichment of rice with Zn to ameliorate malnutrition in burgeoning human populations.