The Effect of a New Carbon Nanocarrier as a Slow Release Fertilizer on the Absorption of Zinc in Wheat Plant

In recent years, carbon-based nanomaterials have been widely applied in agriculture due to their higher biocompatibility, cheapness, and important effects on the growth and production of plants. In this research work, a new fertilizer based on carbon nanomaterials (Zn-NCDs) was synthesized using citric acid, urea, and zinc chloride as the precursors via a one-pot simple hydrothermal method and characterized by FT-IR, CHN, EDS, DLS, PL, UV-Vis, FESEM, TEM, ICP-OES, and zeta potential. Then, the effects of the Zn-NCDs as a zinc source were evaluated on the growth and the improvement of zinc uptake in the shoot of wheat (Triticum aestivum, Sirvan) under a hydroponic condition using a completely randomized design, with three replications and three concentrations of 2, 4, and 8 mg L-1 compared to ZnSO4, and Zn-EDTA (with a concentration of 2 mg L-1). Instrumental analysis showed that Zn-NCDs nanocarriers have uniform dispersion, no apparent aggregation, and an average particle size of less than 5 nm. Also, the presence of carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and zinc in the structure of Zn-NCDs was confirmed. The hydroponic culture revealed that Zn-NCDs was as effective as two commercial fertilizers, ZnSO4 and Zn-EDTA, in providing zinc in the shoot of wheat plants. Also, Zn-NCDs significantly increased the percentage of nitrogen and protein in shoot compared to ZnSO4. The results of the soil incubation demonstrated that the zinc release from NCDs nanocarrier continued for 30 days.