Effect of Tio2 nanoparticles in thyme under reduced irrigation conditions

Abstract

The nanotechnology is a relatively new technology that has recently entered the field of agriculture. Nanotechnology covers the integration or manipulation of individual atoms, molecules or molecular masses to a diverse array of structures allowing the production of new characteristics and traits of interest. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of foliar application of TiO2 nanoparticles on quantitative traits (plant height, number of branches, dry weight of shoots and roots) and the essential oil content of thyme under different levels of field capacity. Our results showed that the application of TiO2 nanoparticles had significant effects on thyme growth, while the essential oil concentrations not affected. These results imply that the application of TiO2 nanoparticles in plants increase agronomic value under reduced irrigation conditions but has not different significant on essential oil.