Abstract
The potential of biochar and nanoparticles to serve as effective delivery agents for beneficial bacteria to crops was investigated. Application of nanoparticles and biochar as carriers for beneficial bacteria improved not only the amount of nitrogen-fixing and phosphorus-solubilizing bacteria in soil, but also improved chlorophyll content (1.2–1.3 times), cell viability (1.1–1.5 times), and antioxidative properties (1.1–1.4 times) compared to control plants. Treatments also improved content of phosphorus (P) (1.1–1.6 times) and nitrogen (N) (1.1–1.4 times higher) in both tomato and watermelon plants. However, the effect of biochars and nanoparticles were species-specific. For example, chitosan-coated mesoporous silica nanoparticles with adsorbed bacteria increased the phosphorus content in tomato by 1.2 times compared to a 1.1-fold increase when nanoclay with adsorbed bacteria was applied. In watermelon, the situation was reversed: 1.1-fold increase in the case of chitosan-coated mesoporous silica nanoparticles and 1.2 times in case of nanoclay with adsorbed bacteria. Our findings demonstrate that use of nanoparticles and biochar as carriers for beneficial bacteria significantly improved plant growth and health. These findings are useful for design and synthesis of novel and sustainable biofertilizer formulations.
Funder
Fondazione CRUI
NSF Center for Sustainable Nanotechnology
“Departments of Excellence” program of the Italian Ministry for Education, University and Research
European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme
Subject
General Materials Science,General Chemical Engineering
Cited by
4 articles.
订阅此论文施引文献
订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献