The world is expected to be teeming with nine billion humans by 2050, meaning we will be hard-pressed to meet this spiking demand for food without straining the natural resources we have. Scientists are racing to find a solution—and some may have just found a breakthrough.
Researchers from the School of Engineering & Applied Science at Washington University in St. Louis have discovered a way to boost not only the productivity of plants, but the nutrient content as well—an idea derived from previous research on solar cells. Playing off of this work, the team used nanoparticles made of solar cell material to help tomato plants thrive.
“When a plant grows, it signals the soil that it needs nutrients,” explained co-author Pratim Biswas, PhD, the Lucy & Stanley Lopata Professor and chair of the Department of Energy, Environmental & Chemical Engineering at Wash. U., in a statement.
“The nutrient it needs is not in a form that the plant can take right away, so it secretes enzymes, which react with the soil and trigger bacterial microbes to turn the nutrients into a form that the plant can use. We’re trying to aid this pathway by adding nanoparticles.”
Zinc and titanium boost the nutrients
According to the paper published in Metallomics, the team sprayed the leaves of the plants with zinc oxide and titanium dioxide nanoparticles. Zinc is an essential plant nutrient, helping plant enzymes to function properly. Titanium, meanwhile, is not an essential nutrient, but boosts the amount of light absorbed by increasing the amount of chlorophyll in the leaves and by promoting photosynthesis.
These nanoparticles were made into a fine spray using novel aerosolization techniques. Then, the spray was directed at the leaves to provide the best absorption.
“We found that our aerosol technique resulted in much greater uptake of nutrients by the plant in comparison to application of the nanoparticles to soil,” said co-author Ramesh Raliya, PhD, a postdoctoral researcher. “A plant can only uptake about 20 percent of the nutrients applied through soil, with the remainder either forming stable complexes with soil constituents or being washed away with water, causing runoff. In both of the latter cases, the nutrients are unavailable to plants.”
In fact, when these nanoparticles were deposited on the leaves, the tomato plants produced 82 percent more fruit by weight than untreated plants. The treated tomatoes also showed an 80 to 113 percent increase in lycopene—the antioxidant advertised on ketchup bottles that has been linked to reduced risks of cancer, heart disease, and age-related vision issues. And the best part: The amount of these particles used in the spray was considerably less than what is used in conventional fertilizer.
From here, the team aims to create a formula of nanonutrients that covers all 17 elements necessary for plant life—a step they believe will help to keep the world fed.
“In 100 years, there will be more cities and less farmland, but we will need more food,” said Raliya. “At the same time, water will be limited because of climate change. We need an efficient methodology and a controlled environment in which plants can grow.”
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Feature Image: Thinkstock
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