Effect of green synthesized cerium oxide nanoparticles on fungal disease of wheat plants: A field study

Abstract

Recently, there has been considerable attention towards the production of environmentally friendly nanoparticles (NPs). In this investigation, the successful synthesis of cerium oxide nanoparticles (CeO₂ NPs) was achieved by employing an eco-friendly technique that utilized an extract from the leaves of local plant quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa L.). The synthesized CeO₂ NPs were subjected to characterization using state-of-the-art methods. The prepared CeO₂ NPs contained a round shape with clusters and have a size of 7-10 nm. To assess how effective CeO₂ NPs derived from C. quinoa were against Ustilago tritici, a fungal disease that negatively affects wheat crop globally, a study was performed on two varieties of wheat crop comprised of Arooj (V1) and Akber (V2), cultivated under field conditions. CeO₂ NPs were applied foliarly twice to the wheat crop at four different concentrations: T0 (0 mg/L), T1 (50 mg/L), T2 (75 mg/L), and T3 (100 mg/L). The results revealed that the control group (T0) exhibited the highest disease severity index (DSI) with a value of 75% compared to the other concentrations of CeO₂ NPs on both varieties. At a concentration of 100 mg/L of CeO₂ NPs, the DSI dropped to a minimum of 35% and 37% on both V1 and V2 respectively. These findings indicated that an increase in the concentration of CeO₂ NPs has a beneficial impact on disease severity. Similar patterns have also been observed with disease incidence (DI), with the greatest efficacy observed at a concentration of 100 mg/L of CeO₂ NPs. Our investigation has shown that CeO₂ NPs exhibitd significant antifungal potential against U. tritici which may be a promising strategy to mitigate fungal disease and crop losses globally.

Keywords: Antifungal activity; Cerium oxide nanoprticles; Ustilago tritici; Wheat crop.