Enhancement of rice (Oryza sativa L.) physiological and yield by application of nano-titanium dioxide

Abstract

Engineered nanoparticles (ENPs) are reported as potentially response to rice physiological and production. The research aimed to investigate the effects of suspended nano-titanium dioxide (sn-TiO2), which is non-toxic to ecology and on the physiology and yield of Thai rice. Selected rice cultivars of RD41 were soaked and sprayed with three difference concentrations of sn-TiO2 (T0.01, T0.02, T0.03 and C) through growing period. Tiller number per plants, stem height and leaf chlorophyll of rice RD41 cultivars were analyzed at tillering (40 days), flowering (70 days), and final harvesting (100 days), whereas the biomass and yield were evaluated at final harvesting (100 days). The results showed the concentration of T0.03 had highest effects on rice RD41 for all studies, which showed non-significance of differences at p <0.05 compared to T0.02. Application of T0.01, T0.02 and T0.03 treatments increased total biomass 33.69, 42.66 and 47.91 g plant -1, respectively, compared to control (30.49). Application of T0.02 enhanced the plant growth and caused increases in the yield of rice, which impacted food availability. According to the results obtained, the function of sn-TiO2 played a positive role in many aspects. For instance, sn-TiO2 could increase light harvesting to activate the photosynthesis rate of rice RD41. Besides, nitrogen metabolism was improved by sn-TiO2 and stimulated protein and pigments content. Moreover, our observed decreasing in injury indices compared to the control group, which caused improvement in cell enlargement, cell elongation and plant growth. Atomic absorption spectrometric result ensured that there is no unforeseen Ti contamination in all part of rice. These findings are important supplementary factors to the application of sn-TiO2 for the crop yield and quality with a proper concentration for their benefits potential.