The utilization of nanoparticles in the agricultural field is widely increasing worldwide. Meanwhile, biological methods are now recognized as one of the most promising methods for producing nanomaterials because of their eco-friendly nature. In the present study, rice husk was converted into silica nanoparticles and used as a nano-priming agent to treat greengram (Vigna radiata (L.) R. Wilczek). Biogenically synthesized SiO2 NPs were characterized by XRD, FT-IR, FE-SEM, EDX, zeta potential and DLS analysis to confirm their structural, functional, homogeneity, stability and hydrodynamic diameter properties. These results revealed that the SiO2 NPs adopted a crystalline nature with an average particle size of 36 nm, high purity, stability (41.5 mV) and hydrodynamic diameter (183.5 nm). Using the synthesized SiO2 NPs, germination, seedling vigour and enzymatic activity of greengram were evaluated. Greengram seeds were primed with different concentrations of SiO2 NPs (50, 100, 200, 300, 400 and 500 ppm) and compared with hydro primed and unprimed seeds. This study demonstrated the positive impact on seed germination, seedling vigour and enzyme activity that was observed at the optimum concentration of SiO2 NPs. On the other hand, a higher concentration of SiO2 NPs on greengram reduced both physiological and biochemical parameters.
Bhuvana et al. (Sun,) studied this question.