The effect of foliar application of nano-micronutrient fertilizers on barley yield

Article and Author Details

Article title: Impact of foliar application of nano micronutrient fertilizers and titanium dioxide nanoparticles on the growth and yield components of barley under supplemental irrigation
Authors: Mohsen Janmohammadi, Tahere Amanzadeh, Nasser Sabghinia, Shahryar Dashti
Source: Acta agriculturae Slovenica, Volume**: 107 - 2, Publication September 2016

Article summary

Nano-fertilizers are a new generation of synthetic fertilizers that contain nutrients in the nano scale range. These fertilizers have gained attention due to their high efficiency and environmentally friendly nature compared to conventional chemical fertilizers. This study investigated the impact of foliar spray of micronutrient nano-fertilizers (iron and zinc) and nano titanium dioxide (nTiO2) solution on grain yield and its components in barley under supplemental irrigation conditions.

Results
The results revealed that the application of nano-fertilizers significantly increased the days to anthesis, grain quality, spike length, number of grains per spike, and chlorophyll content. Notably, the effect of nano zinc fertilizer was more prominent than that of iron. Additionally, the application of nTiO2 positively affected some morphophysiological characteristics, such as days to anthesis and straw yield. These findings suggest that the delivery of Zn into barley seedlings through nano-fertilizer spray can be an effective nutrient management strategy in semi-arid regions.
This study indicates that the integration of nanotechnology in fertilizer products can improve fertilizer use efficiency and significantly increase barley yield.