Role of Cerium Compounds in Fusarium Wilt Suppression and Growth Enhancement in Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum)

• Published in: Journal of agricultural and food chemistry Vol. 66; no. 24; pp. 5959 - 5970
• Main Authors: Adisa, Ishaq O, Reddy Pullagurala, Venkata L, Rawat, Swati, Hernandez-Viezcas, Jose A, Dimkpa, Christian O, Elmer, Wade H, White, Jason C, Peralta-Videa, Jose R, Gardea-Torresdey, Jorge L
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Chemical Society 20.06.2018
• Subjects: nanofertilizer; nanopesticide; Fusarium wilt; tomato; nano-CeO2
• ISSN: 0021-8561; 1520-5118
• DOI: 10.1021/acs.jafc.8b01345

The use of nanoparticles in plant protection may reduce pesticide usage and contamination and increase food security. In this study, three-week-old Solanum lycopersicum seedlings were exposed, by root or foliar pathways, to CeO2 nanoparticles and cerium acetate at 50 and 250 mg/L prior to transplant into sterilized soil. One week later, the soil was inoculated with the fungal pathogen Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici (1 g/kg), and the plants were cultivated to maturity in a greenhouse. Disease severity, biomass/yield, and biochemical and physiological parameters were analyzed in harvested plants. Disease severity was significantly reduced by 250 mg/L of nano-CeO2 and CeAc applied to the soil (53% and 35%, respectively) or foliage (57% and 41%, respectively), compared with non-treated infested controls. Overall, the findings show that nano-CeO2 has potential to suppress Fusarium wilt and improve the chlorophyll content in tomato plants.