Impact of the foliar application of magnesium nanofertilizer on physiological and biochemical parameters and yield in green beans

Alondra Salcido-Martínez,Esteban Sánchez,Pablo Preciado-Rangel,Sandra Pérez-Álvarez,Alejandro Palacio-Márquez,Nubia I Amaya-Olivas,Lorena P Licón-Trillo

doi:10.15835/nbha48412090

Abstract

One of the most significant challenges humanity will face is food production. In order to preserve the output, mineral fertilizers are essential. However, it's not a suitable option in the long term. Magnesium is a crucial macronutrient, but it is the most limiting element in agriculture. Nanotechnology, with the implementation of nanofertilizers, is an excellent alternative since it provides nutrients, supports growth, and improves production; this in low amounts is more sustainable than conventional fertilizers. Although there is a piece of limited information regarding the proper foliar application of this macronutrient, the study helped to validate the effect of the foliar application of Magnesium nano fertilizer on the physiological, biochemical responses and yield of bean plants. Bean plants ejotero cv. ‘Strike’ and magnesium nanoparticles were applied at doses of 0, 50, 100, and 200 ppm. The biomass accumulation, yield, activity of the enzyme nitrate reductase, and photosynthetic pigments were evaluated. The foliar application of Mg nanoparticles at 50 ppm generated the highest amount of biomass and photosynthetic pigments. The 100 ppm dose improved pods yield and allowed the increased activity of the Nitrate Reductase enzyme. The results obtained suggest that, when increasing the dose of magnesium in plants, the amount of carotenes decreases.

Highlights

The common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.), belonging to the Fabaceae family, is the most important legume for direct consumption in the world, mainly for the South American and African zones
Significant differences were observed in the total biomass in dry weight (Figure 1), highlighting the foliar application dose of 50 ppm of Nano Magnesium with the highest total biomass, with an increase of 25%, 19% and 9% in relation to the Control and the doses of 200 and 100 ppm of Nano Magnesium respectively
The data obtained in the present work are very similar to those found by Stagnari et al (2009), where foliar fertilization with magnesium in green beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) increased aerial and root biomass, as well as pod yield

Summary

Introduction

The common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.), belonging to the Fabaceae family, is the most important legume for direct consumption in the world, mainly for the South American and African zones Received in revised form: 30 Oct 2020. Beans are grown primarily to be consumed as dry grain and to a lesser extent it is used for food such as fresh seeds and tender pods (Silbernagel et al, 1991; Esquivel et al, 2006). In Mexico for the year 2018, about 66 % of bean production was concentrated in the states of Zacatecas, Sinaloa, Durango, and Chihuahua, occupying the third position in importance for the area planted and the thirteenth position for the value of the national agricultural production, with a total yield of 1,196 million tons (FIRA, 2019)

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