Effects of graphene on seed germination and seedling growth

• Published in: Journal of nanoparticle research : an interdisciplinary forum for nanoscale science and technology Vol. 17; no. 2; pp. 1 - 8
• Main Authors: Zhang, Ming, Gao, Bin, Chen, Jianjun, Li, Yuncong
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer Netherlands 01.02.2015; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Characterization and Evaluation of Materials; Chemistry and Materials Science; Environmental impact; Germination; Graphene; Inorganic Chemistry; Lasers; Materials Science; Mathematical analysis; Nanoparticles; Nanostructure; Nanotechnology; Optical Devices; Optics; Photonics; Physical Chemistry; Research Paper; Roots; Seed germination; Seedlings; Seeds; Tomatoes; Uptakes; Water uptake; Seed husk; Penetration; Seedling; Graphene; Germination; Moisture
• ISSN: 1388-0764; 1572-896X
• DOI: 10.1007/s11051-015-2885-9

The environmental impact of graphene has recently attracted great attention. In this work, we show that graphene at a low concentration affected tomato seed germination and seedling growth. Graphene-treated seeds germinated much faster than control seeds. Analytical results indicated that graphene penetrated seed husks. The penetration might break the husks to facilitate water uptake, resulting in faster germination and higher germination rates. At the stage of seedling growth, graphene was also able to penetrate root tip cells. Seedlings germinated from graphene-treated seeds had slightly lower biomass accumulation than the control, but exhibited significantly longer stems and roots than the control, which suggests that graphene, in contrast with other nanoparticles, had different effects on seedling growth. Taken together, our results imply that graphene played complicated roles in affecting the initial stage of seed germination and subsequent seedling growth.