Evaluating Nanotechnology in raising the efficiency of some substances used in fertilizing wheat grown on sandy soil.

Abstract

Nanotechnology has the potential to increase the efficiency and quality of agricultural production. So, this research work was carried out to assess the effect of some soil conditioners at different rates and foliar application of antioxidant on the performance of wheat plants grown on sandy soil. The treatments were T 1 : Control (without soil addition);T 2 : 0.50%Normal compost (bulky);T 3 : 0.25% Nano compost;T 4 : 0.50% Nano compost;T 5 : 0.50% Normal agricultural gypsum (bulky);T 6 : 0.25% Nano agricultural gypsum;T 7 : 0.50% Nano agricultural gypsum; T 8 : 0.50% Normal sugar lime mud (bulky);T 9 : 0.25% Nano sugar lime mud;T 10 : 0.50% Nano sugar lime mud; F 1 : without proline and F 2 : with proline.Wheat plants treated with compostpossessed the highest values of all growth criteria ( e.g., fresh and dry weights, plant height and leaf area), photosynthetic pigments (after 70 days from sowing), yield, its component, and grains quality (at harvest stage) under sandy soil conditions followed by that treated with agricultural gypsum than the plants treated with sugar lime mud, while the untreated wheat plants with any soil conditioner (control treatment) possessed the lowest values of all aforementioned traits. Nano form was superior compared to the normal form with all studied soil amendments. Also, all aforementioned traits increased as the rate of Nano form increased with all studied soil amendments.Regarding the foliar application, the proline treatment was superior compared to the control treatment (without foliar application). The control treatment (without soil and foliar applications) led to raising the enzymatic antioxidants content in the straw of wheat plant after 70 days from sowing, where the cultivation without any both soil conditioners and proline caused an increase in wheat self-production from these antioxidants to scavenge the ROS (or as named free radicals) resulting due to the poverty of sandy soil, thus increase of tolerance. Generally, it can be concluded that all the studied soil conditioners ( i.e., gypsum, compost, and sugar lime mud) in either normal form or Nano form have a beneficial effect on improving the performance and productivity of wheat plants grown under sandy soil conditions. Also, the findings of the current work confirmed proline is one of the plant's protective ways from the poverty of sandy soil fertility, where it works as an antioxidant and leads to an increase in wheat plant tolerance to the poverty of sandy soil fertility.