With a projected global population of 9.7 billion by 2050, efforts to sustainably maintain global food security will become highly challenged. A changing climate and continued net loss of arable soil will present additional barriers. There has been rapidly increasing interest in the use of nanotechnology in agriculture, including the use of nanomaterials for fertilizers and crop protection. In both greenhouse and field studies, we applied two kinds of copper nanomaterials (commercial CuO nanoparticles and synthesized Cu3(PO4)2 3H2O nanosheets), as well as two ionic/salt controls (CuSO4 and Na3(PO4)), on a weekly basis to treat the tomato seedlings infested with the fungal pathogen Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici. In an ongoing greenhouse experiment, we found that repeated treatment with 50 mg L-1 Cu3(PO4)2 3H2O nanosheets, 31.25 mg L-1 CuO nanoparticles, 63.25 mg L-1 solubilized CuSO4, 24.5 mg L-1 Na3(PO4) had no impact on healthy seedlings. However, for the diseased plants both the Cu3(PO4)2 3H2O nanosheets and the solubilized CuSO4 increased plant biomass and decreased disease progress relative to the controls. The field experiment is currently on-going, but qualitatively, the treatments have had no significant effects on healthy tomato seedlings. In the diseased treatments, plants treated with 50 mg L-1 Cu3(PO4)2 3H2O nanosheets are larger and more vigorous than the other four treatments nearly two months into the growth cycle. Disease ratings, biomass, and element/nutrient content will be collected and presented for both the greenhouse and field trials. The findings not only suggest that in both greenhouse and field studies, repeated applications of Cu nanomaterials may significantly suppress fungal disease but also that the morphology and composition of the materials may be controlled to further optimize beneficial effects.

Application of copper nanomaterials to improve the resistance to root fungal disease in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum)

Macromolecular Chemistry: The Second Century

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ACS Spring 2020 National Meeting & Expo

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.