Effect of Plant-Mediated TiO2 Nanoparticles on Growth and Yield of Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) Under Induced Biotic Stress
Agriculture is the backbone of Pakistan and provides food, income, and employment. Agriculture has a main role in a country’s economy. Solanum lycopersicum is the second largest crop in the world and is grown and eaten all over the world, but in Pakistan, tomato consumption is quite high. It increased from 1.86 kg in 2001 with an average growth rate of 7.5% per annum. According to a 2020 report by the Planning Commission of Pakistan, the country’s tomato trade deficit has ballooned over time. S. lycopersicum crop is highly affected by biotic stress, and it is estimated that 1/3 of the global crop is lost by pathogenic attack. Utilization of manufactured fertilizer and pesticides is economically expensive, damages soil, and harms the environment. Nanotechnology was introduced by Laureate Richard in 1959, and its applications in agriculture are noteworthy and fruitful. The current work investigates the potential significance of TiO2 NPs in inducing biotic stress in S. lycopersicum. TiO2 enhanced morphological, physiological, and biochemical profiling of S. lycopersicum within induced biotic stress. TiO2 is not only good for plants, but it is also an active ingredient in sunscreen, where it works as a UV filtering ingredient to help block the sun′s ultraviolet light that can cause sunburn and is linked to skin cancer. The presence study was conducted to check the effect of plant-based TiO2 nanoparticles on S. lycopersicum under induced biotic stress. Plant-based Synthesis of TiO2 nanoparticles was done, followed by characterization. The application of TiO2 to different Concentrations concluded that it had a positive effect on the plant. TiO2 nanoparticles have elicited 75%, 175%, 17%, 173%, and 45% increases in the diameter of the stem, area of the leaf, relative water content, phenolic content, and total sugar content, respectively. The study concluded that TiO2 plant-based nanoparticles can change plant metabolic profile and cope against biotic stress.
Keywords: TiO2 NPs, Plant-mediated synthesis, Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.), Biotic stress, Nanotechnology in agriculture, Antimicrobial activity of TiO2 NPs, Growth enhancement
