Plant Growth Enhancement & Fungal Disease Suppression via Copper, Zinc, and Manganese Nanoparticle Foliar Spray

Alexander Patti

Sensitive crop regions are constantly under environmental stresses that foster plentiful plant disease. Basil plants, for instance, have been victims of Fusarium oxysporum (F.o.) wilt for decades, where growth conditions have stimulated progression of this disease, and subsequent crop destruction. A simple and effective treatment that would eradicate F.o wilt, while promoting overall plant growth, is needed. Metallic nanoparticles (NPs) have shown to improve plant health and overall crop yield, due to systemic movement through the plant’s root system, where the nutritional value of metallic nanoparticles is fully realized. This research investigates whether the “foliar-spray” application of NPs of copper, manganese, and zinc (as oxides) increases the growth rate and crop efficiency of healthy O. basilicum plants, and inhibits the adverse effects of F.o., to ultimately devise an easily-applied, simple, and effective treatment to promote increased crop growth. Pre-grown (3") basil plants were first transferred to ~0.8L pots using ProMix-BX soil, which was pre-inoculated with 1-2ml of 1g/L-F.o in water. Each plant was then treated with ~2ml foliar spray of the respective nanoparticles. After 6 weeks growth, all three MO-NP treatments produced significant increases (>120%) in biomass, relative to diseased plants; ZnNPs were the most favorable, at 180% increase in biomass relative to untreated, diseased plants. Combined Cu-Zn NP treatment enhanced diseased plants’ biomass by 29% and provided a 40% increase in height. Most importantly, diseased-plants outgrew healthy controls by 21%, highlighting the treatment’s ability to fully suppress F.o., so that infected plants grow beyond normal, healthy conditions.