Research Fellow Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology, Allahabad Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, India
Body of Abstract: In a life cycle study, we investigated the effects of two types of iron on the early flowering rice mutant (Oryza sativa L.): iron oxide nanoparticles (FeO NPs) and iron salt (FeSO4). The main goal was to determine how FeO NPs affected growth, biochemical, molecular, and yield characteristics. Compared to the basal and tillering stages of the rice life cycle, we found that foliar treatment with FeO NPs at the blooming stage resulted in greater benefits for plant growth and yield. Compared to iron salt-treated and control plants, plants treated with FeO NPs displayed wider leaves, better growth, biomass, and tiller numbers. The 25 mg/L of FeO NPs suspension produced the highest yield, which was three times higher than the untreated control. This was mostly due to the rise in the number of fertile tillers. FeO NPs improved photosynthetic efficiency, aided in the appropriate storage of photo-assimilates, and enhanced the accumulation of phytochemicals such ascorbic acid, soluble sugar, protein, and starch, as well as macro- and micronutrients. Techniques for distributional mapping using TEM and LA-ICP-MS have also been employed to support the findings. In comparison to conventional fertilization, NPs doubled the Fe concentration in rice while having no negative impact on human health. Pho1, Nramp5, and Vit, three transporter genes, displayed elevated and noteworthy differential expression in the rice panicles of plants treated with FeO NPs. This study shows that FeO NPs can be utilized as a safe fertilizer in the rice harvesting ecosystem and to improve iron utilization.