Abstract
Modern agriculture requires more efficient and low-impact products and formulations than traditional agrochemicals to improve crop yields. Iron is a micronutrient essential for plant growth and photosynthesis, but it is mostly present in insoluble forms in ecosystems so that it is often limiting for plants. This study was aimed at combining natural strategies and biodegradable nanostructured materials to create environmentally friendly and low-toxic bioactive products capable of both supplying iron to Fe-deficient plants and reducing the impact of agricultural products on the environment. Consequently, free-standing electrospun nanofibrous polycaprolactone/polyhydroxybutyrate thin membranes loaded with catechol (CL-NMs) as an iron-chelating natural agent (at two concentrations) were fabricated on purpose to mobilize Fe from insoluble forms and transfer it to duckweed (Lemna minor L.) plants. The effectiveness of CL-NMs in providing iron to Fe-deficient plants, upon catechol release, tested in duckweeds grown for 4 days under controlled hydroponic conditions, displayed temporal variations in both photosynthetic efficiency and biometric parameters measured by chlorophyll fluorescence and growth imaging. Duckweeds supplied with CL-NMs hosting higher catechol concentrations recovered most of the physiological and growth performances previously impaired by Fe limitation. The absence of short-term toxicity of these materials on duckweeds also proved the low impact on ecosystems of these products.
Highlights
Modern agriculture has been recently solicited to both improve crop yields and reduce the impact on environments and natural resources
The effectiveness of catechol-loaded nanomembranes (CL-NMs) in providing iron to Fe-deficient plants, upon catechol release, tested in duckweeds grown for 4 days under controlled hydroponic conditions, displayed temporal variations in both photosynthetic efficiency and biometric parameters measured by chlorophyll fluorescence and growth imaging
The aim of this study was to create free-standing thin membranes made of electrospun biodegradable PCL/PHB nanofibrous structures and loading catechol molecules to provide Fe to plants, mimicking Strategy I principles
Summary
Modern agriculture has been recently solicited to both improve crop yields and reduce the impact on environments and natural resources. Iron is traditionally supplied to plants by farmers employing Fe fertilizers, where Fe is present in chelates (Fe-EDTA), which are applied mostly in foliar spraying and in solutions to soil The use of such formulations with Fe-chelates, is expensive and these compounds can be washed away from leaves by rainfalls, if not promptly absorbed by plants, and leached out from soils because of their high water solubility and mobility, causing groundwater and surface water pollution [10]. There is a current demand in agriculture for more efficient and effective formulations and cheaper and more environmentally friendly products than the present fertilizers To achieve these targets, natural strategies (as bioactive agents) and eco-friendly materials (as carriers) are alternative solutions in controlling plant nutrient deficiencies and diseases
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