Surprise! Spraying rice plants with zinc oxide nanoparticles can help them withstand heatwaves and maintain yields.
Release date:
2025-01-18
A small team of horticulturists from China and the United States has discovered that spraying rice plants with a zinc oxide nanoparticles solution helps them better cope with the stress caused by heatwaves. In their study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the team conducted spray experiments on rice plants inside a heated greenhouse.
Previous research has shown that heatwaves can reduce rice yields—and even lead to plant death—depending on their intensity. That’s why plant scientists have been actively exploring ways to help crops survive the increasing frequency and growing severity of heatwaves, likely exacerbated by global warming. The research team discovered that zinc oxide nanoparticles could potentially serve as just such a tool.
Previous studies have also shown that zinc oxide is a natural component of plant metabolism—rice farmers have been using it as a fertilizer for years. Recently, researchers discovered that applying zinc nanoparticles is an even more effective approach, as the particles can penetrate the pores on leaf surfaces. Now, the team aims to determine whether zinc oxide itself can help rice plants maintain yields during heatwaves.
To get to the bottom of the issue, researchers grew rice plants in climate-controlled greenhouses. Once the plants had matured, the team raised the temperature to 37°C for six consecutive days. During this artificially induced heatwave, they sprayed a solution containing zinc oxide nanoparticles onto some of the plants, while the rest were simply watered as usual.
During the rice harvest, the research team discovered that plants sprayed with zinc oxide nanoparticles yielded significantly higher outputs—far greater than those treated only with water. Upon closer examination of the rice grains, the team also found that these grains contained richer levels of essential nutrients.
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