Seed priming with carbon nanotubes and silicon dioxide nanoparticles influence agronomic traits of Indian mustard (Brassica juncea) in field experiments

The present study demonstrates the effect of seed priming with carbon nanotubes and silicon dioxide nanoparticles on field performance of Indian mustard (Brassica juncea var. NRCDR 2) crop. A randomized block design study was conducted in research fields in which 3 groups of nano-primed seeds were sown in three replications. Two groups comprised treatments with 5 different concentrations (25, 50, 75, 100 and 125 μg/ml) of hydroxyl (–OH) functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) and silicon dioxide (SiO2) nanoparticles, and the third group was water treated seeds referred to as the control group. Sixteen different agronomic traits were considered, out of which three (leaf petiole length, siliquae length and number of seeds per siliqua) were found to have increased significantly, five traits (leaf length, length of main inflorescence, number of siliquae per plant, harvest index and biological yield) got decreased and nine traits (leaf width, plant height, number of primary and secondary branches, number of siliquae per main inflorescence, 1000 seed weight, oil content and seed yield) were not altered significantly as compared to control group. This first detailed report on field performance of a crop grown using seed priming as a mode of application of nanomaterials, demonstrated various alterations in agronomic characteristics of Brassica juncea, which were dosage dependent and were also influenced by the type of nanomaterials used to prime the seeds.