Abstract
The impacts of different concentrations of bulk and nanosized TiO2 on seed germination and seedling growth of wheat were studied in a randomized completely design with four replications in the College of Agriculture, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Iran, in 2011. The experimental treatments included five concentrations of bulk (1, 2, 10, 100, and 500 ppm), five concentrations of nanosized TiO2 (1, 2, 10, 100, and 500 ppm), and control (without any TiO2). Results indicated that among the wheat germination indices, only mean germination time was affected by treatments. The lowest and the highest mean germination time (0.89 vs. 1.35 days) were obtained in 10 ppm concentration of nanosized TiO2 and control treatments, respectively. In addition, shoot length, seedling length, and root dry matters were affected by bulk and nanosized TiO2 concentrations, significantly. Shoot and seedling lengths at 2 and 10 ppm concentrations of nanosized TiO2 were higher than those of the untreated control and bulk TiO2 at 2 and 10 ppm concentrations. Employing nanosized TiO2 in suitable concentration could promote the seed germination of wheat in comparison to bulk TiO2 but in high concentrations had inhibitory or any effect on wheat.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Barrena R, Casals E, Colon J, Font X, Sanchez A, Puntes V (2009) Evaluation of the ecotoxicity of model nanoparticles. Chemosphere 75:850–857
Carmen IU, Chithra P, Huang Q, Takhistov P, Liu S, Kokini JL (2003) Nanotechnology: a new frontier in food science. Food Technol 57:24–29
Hruby M, Cigler P, Kuzel S (2002) Contribution to understanding the mechanism of titanium action in plant. J Plant Nutr 25:577–598
Ruffini Castiglione M, Cremonini R (2009) Nanoparticles and higher plants. Caryologia 62:161–165
Lu CM, Zhang CYWuJQ, Tao MX (2002) Research of the effect of nanometer on germination and growth enhancement of Glycine max and its mechanism. Soybean Sci 21:168–172
Zheng L, Hong F, Lu S, Liu C (2005) Effect of nano-TiO2 on strength of naturally aged seeds and growth of spinach. Biol Trace Elem Res 105:83–91
Navarro E, Baun A, Behra R, Hartmann NB, Filser J, Miao A, Quigg A, Santschi PH, Sigg L (2008) Environmental behavior and ecotoxicity of engineered nanoparticles to algae, plants, and fungi. Ecotoxicology 17:372–386
Hong F, Zhou J, Liu C, Yang F, Wu C, Zheng L, Yang P (2005) Effects of Nano-TiO2 on photochemical reaction of chloroplasts of spinach. Biol Trace Elem Res 105:269–279
Hong F, Yang F, Liu C, Gao Q, Wan Z, Gu F, Wu C, Ma Z, Zhou J, Yang P (2005) Influence of nano-TiO2 on the chloroplast aging of spinach under light. Biol Trace Elem Res 104:249–260
Yang F, Liu C, Gao F, Su M, Wu X, Zheng L, Hong F, Yang P (2007) The improvement of spinach growth by nano-anatase TiO2 treatment is related to nitrogen photoreduction. Biol Trace Elem Res 119:77–88
Yang L, Watts DJ (2005) Particle surface characteristics may play an important role in phytotoxicity of alumina nanoparticles. Toxicol Lett 158:122–132
Gao F, Hong F, Liu C, Zheng L, Su M, Wu X, Yang F, Wu C, Yang P (2006) Mechanism of nano-anatase TiO2 on promoting photosynthetic carbon reaction of spinach. Biol Trace Element Res 111:239–253
Lee WM, An YJ, Yoon H, Kwbon HS (2008) Toxicity and bioavailability of copper nanoparticles to the terrestrial plants mung bean (Phaseolus radiatus) and wheat (Triticum aestrivum): plant agar test for water-insoluble nanoparticles. Environ Toxic Chem 27:1915–1921
ISTA (2009) ISTA rules. International Seed Testing Association, Zurich
Matthews S, Khajeh-Hosseini M (2007) Length of the lag period of germination and metabolic repair explain vigor differences in seed lots of maize (Zea mays). Seed Sci Technol 35:200–212
Maguire ID (1982) Speed of germination—aid in selection and evaluation for seedling emergence and vigor. Crop Sci 22:176–177
Vashisth A, Nagarajan S (2010) Effect on germination and early growth characteristics in sunflower (Helianthus annuus) seeds exposed to static magnetic field. J Plant Physiol 167:149–156
Khodakovskaya M, Dervishi E, Mahmood M, Xu Y, Li Z, Watanabe F (2009) Carbon nanotubes are able to penetrate plant seed coat and dramatically affect seed germination and plant growth. ACS Nano 3(10):3221–3227
Nair R, Varghese SH, Nair BG, Maekawa T, Yoshida Y, Sakthi Kumar D (2010) Nanoparticulate material delivery to plants. Plant Sci 179:154–163
Owolade OF, Ogunleti DO, Adenekan MO (2008) Titanium dioxide affected diseases, development and yield of edible cowpea. Electronic J Environ Agric Food Chem 7(5):2942–2947
Lin D, Xing B (2007) Phytotoxicity of nanoparticles: inhibition of seed germination and root growth. Environ Pollution 150:243–250
Acknowledgments
The authors acknowledge the financial support of the project by Ferdowsi University of Mashhad. We thank Ms. Pesyan and Ms. Hashemian for helping provide electron microscopy images. We wish to thank Mrs. Agheli for providing valuable help during seed germination tests.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Feizi, H., Rezvani Moghaddam, P., Shahtahmassebi, N. et al. Impact of Bulk and Nanosized Titanium Dioxide (TiO2) on Wheat Seed Germination and Seedling Growth. Biol Trace Elem Res 146, 101–106 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-011-9222-7
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-011-9222-7