Phytoavailability of phosphorus (P) in soil remains a major issue for crop production particularly in developing world. The
objective of present work was to study the effects of engineered TiO2 nanoparticles (nano-TiO2) on phytoavailability of P and
growth response of Lactuca sativa (Lettuce). Suspensions of 0, 25, 50, 75 and 100 mg kg-1 of nano-TiO2 having size less
than 65 nm were applied to a sandy loam soil. The concentration of phytoavailable P in soil increased up to 56% after 72 h
incubation at room temperature (25°C) in Petri dishes when 100 mg nano-TiO2 kg-1 soil was applied. Similar trends were
also observed for phytoavailable P in the soil after culturing L. sativa plants onto it for 14 days. Shoot and root lengths were
increased up to 49% and 62% respectively at 100 mg kg-1 of soil applied nano-TiO2, as compared to the control treatment.
Shoot and root P concentrations were increased up to 36 and 175% respectively at 100 mg kg-1 of nano-TiO2, as compared to
the control. P uptake per plant was five-folds with reference to the control. L. sativa significantly acidified its rhizosphere.
This innovative study provides an important base line to further investigate the detailed mechanisms involved in improved P
uptake and plant growth in response to application of engineered nanoparticles in the field.
Hina Umber Hanif, Muhammad Arshad, Muhammad Arif Ali, Niaz Ahmed, Ishtiaq Ahmed Qazi. (2015) Phyto-availability Of Phosphorus To Lactuca Sativa In Response To Soil Applied Tio2 Nanoparticles, , Volume-52, Issue-1.
