The combination of nanotechnology and hydroponics paves the way toward sustainable agriculture with less environmental footprints. Researchers investigated the effects of a liquid nano urea formulation (NUF) marketed by Indian Farmers Fertilizer Cooperative (IFFCO) on the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana in hydroponics, comparing it to an equimolar bulk urea.
Dynamic light scattering and transmission electron microscopy confirmed NUF's negative surface charge and sub-100-nm size, suitable for its uptake and distribution in the plant. A two-week growth in a nitrogen-free hydroponic medium with 70 μM NUF led to a 20% higher biomass and 16% higher chlorophyll content than a medium with 70 μM urea. Higher doses of NUF inhibited growth, whereas higher equivalent urea doses did not. Transcriptome analysis revealed that NUF led to the differential expression of more genes than urea at 12 h to seven days of treatment. Nitrogen assimilation, growth, photosynthesis, and stress tolerance genes showed higher transcript levels in NUF than in urea. On the other hand, NUF led to greater suppression of many negative growth-regulating genes. After seven days of treatment, chlorophyll biosynthesis genes were up-regulated, while chlorophyll catabolism genes were down-regulated at higher levels by NUF than by urea, correlating with the higher chlorophyll content of NUF-treated seedlings.
In conclusion, NUF outperformed equimolar urea for the growth promotion of A. thaliana at a low concentration in hydroponics, leading to greater regulation of genes for nitrogen metabolism and chlorophyll biosynthesis. The results suggest a potential use of NUF as a nitrogen fertilizer for hydroponic agriculture.
Jangir, Neelam & Marik, Debankona & Verma, Devanshu & Dey, Arpan & Shekhawat, Rajveer Singh & Patel, Deep & Yadav, Pankaj & Sankhala, Kirti & Sadhukhan, Ayan. (2024). Nano Urea Outperforms Equimolar Bulk Urea in the Hydroponic Growth of Arabidopsis thaliana by Inducing Higher Levels of Nitrogen Assimilation and Chlorophyll Biosynthesis Genes. Journal of Plant Growth Regulation. 1-27. DOI: 10.1007/s00344-024-11581-8.
Source: Research Gate