Abstract
Enormous use of manufactured nanoparticles in various fields has motivated researchers to assess their potential applications
in agriculture along with serious concerns of toxicity on various plant species. When we are going to study the effects caused
by nanoparticles on plants, their bulk counterparts should also be investigated in order to have comprehensive comparative
knowledge. In present study the effects of Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) and ZnO Bulk powder on seed germination and
early growth parameters of wheat plant (Triticum aestivum) were investigated. Co-precipitation technique was used to
synthesize ZnO NPs and X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to characterize these
NPs, which indicated formation of pure wurzite hexagonal ZnO nanoparticles with average size of 35nm. These synthesized
ZnO NPs and ZnO bulk powder were applied to wheat seeds of variety Ujala approved in 2016. Wheat seeds were divided into
three groups i) control seeds with no treatment ii) Seeds treated with ZnO bulk and iii) Seeds treated with ZnO NPs. Experiment
was performed in complete randomized design (CRD) with three replicates of each group, at two different concentrations
(300ppm and 600ppm) of each treatment of ZnO NPs and ZnO bulk. Seed germination and early growth parameters were
monitored and obtained results were analysed statistically using one-way ANOVA and the mean comparisons were made by
Tukey HSD (Honest significant difference) test at 5% significance level. At 300ppm and 600ppm concentration, wheat mean
germination time and time span of germination increased in ZnO NPs treated group. Shoot length, shoot weight and vigor
index II also enhanced significantly at ZnO NPs 300 ppm treatment compared to ZnO bulk and control group. These results
indicate that low concentration of ZnO NPs can have stimulatory effect on wheat germination and growth parameters.
