ABSTRACT

 

Nanotechnology is a broad and interdisciplinary area of research and development activity that has been growing at a rapid pace worldwide in the past few years. Recent manufacturing advancements have led to the fabrication of nanoparticles of different sizes and shapes. The new dimension in improving nutrient use efficiency is the use of nanoparticles which are used extensively in a wide range of sectors. Most investigations so far have focused on cereals and a very few studies have been done in sunflower.  Hence, an attempt was done to standardize the concentration and soaking period by treating sunflower hybrid seeds with nano zinc and nano boron based on germination percentage and seedling vigour. The results showed that nano zinc @100ppm and nano boron @50ppm for one and a half hour soaking period significantly enhanced germination, higher seedling length with noticeably more secondary and tertiary roots over control and bulk nutrients and seedling vigour and there were no significant results at higher concentrations and longer soaking period. The use of nano nutrients can reduce the burden of excess zinc and boron fertilizer to soil.

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Keywords   Nano boron, nano particles, nano zinc, seedling vigour index, seed germination, speed of germination, sunflower.