Nanoparticles present an emerging approach to delivery of micronutrients to plants. Nanoparticle-based delivery can provide a way to apply micronutrients more effectively than conventional approaches, increases the efficiency of uptake and reducing the amount of material that ends up in inactive forms in the soil. We have investigated the delivery of Cu as a micronutrient using CuO and Cu3(PO4)2 nanoparticles in different sizes and in different nanoparticle morphologies. By controlling the nanoparticle growth conditions, it is possible to make CuO and Cu3(PO4)2 in nano-sheet form in similar sizes, and tomake CuO nanoparticles in different morphologies. The ability to control the shape and composition of the nanoparticles independently provides a way to better understand the molecular-level structure-property relationships that control the update and subsequent biological processes. Experiments to date show that Cu3(PO4)2 nanoparticles are significantly more effective than CuO nanparticles at a similar mass dosing rate, increasing wet mass and reducing susceptibility of watermelon to investation by fusarium oxysporum. Additonal experiments using soybean and tomato indicate a similar effectiveness, suggesting that the use of nanomaterials may present a general approach to increasing sustainability of agricultural practices by increasing crop yields and reducing susceptibility to disease. In the talk I will present recent results aimed at investigating the molecular-level chemical and structural factors that contral the interaction of nanoparticles with plant leaves, with the ultimate goal of understand the underlying molecular-level mechanisms of interaction.

Cu-based nanoparticles for sustainable agriculture: toward a molecular-level understanding of how CuO and Cu3(PO4)2 nanoparticles influence plant growth and susceptibility to disease.

2019 Spring National Meeting

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