On the Growth of Tomato and Pepper Plants under Aseptic Conditions with Metal Nanoparticles and Chitosan

Abstract

This work presents the results of comparative studies of the effect of iron, zinc, copper nanoparticles (NPs) and their compositions, and chitosan in nutrient media on seed germination and the morphophysiological parameters of tomatoes and peppers. It is found that for nutrient media containing chitosan and metal NPs instead of salts of these elements, the germination of pepper seeds increased on average by 3–7% and tomato seeds by 1.4–2.8 times compared to the germination of seeds on standard Murashige—Skoog medium (control), depending on the concentration, element, and combination with chitosan. The introduction of metal NPs and chitosan into the nutrient media for the cultivation of tomato and pepper plants has an insignificant effect on a change in root length, but promotes an increase in its activity, for example, for Fe NPs at a concentration of 3 mg/L by 2.24 times (p ≤ 0.05), in combination with chitosan by 2.44 times (p ≤ 0.05) compared to the control. Plant material prepared on nutrient media with metal NPs and chitosan in aseptic conditions, planted into the soil, allows an increase in the yield of tomatoes by 10–15% and peppers by 2 times.