Effect of Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles on Proso Millet Seedlings

Proso millet (Panicum miliaceum L.) from the family Poaceae is one of the six major cereals cultivated in the world. An important characteristic is its resistance to heat and drought, which makes hot, dry and semi-arid areas optimal for its cultivation. Due to the climatic changes and the associated lack of water in some areas of the world, proso millet represents a good alternative or supplement to cereal cultivation. The main agricultural value of proso millet is its use as animal feed, which underlines its key role in agriculture. The modern trend in agriculture involves the application of nanoparticle-based products as micronutrients or growth promoters. The aim of our research was to investigate the effect of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs) on the initial growth stages of proso millet. We evaluated the length of the plant, length of aerial parts and the root system of plants. In experiments Slovak variety 'Unikum' was used. ZnO-NPs were applied at four different concentrations (1 mg.l-1, 10 mg.l-1, 100 mg.l-1 and 300 mg.l-1) and compared with the control sample. We found that the concentration of 100 mg.l-1 might be suitable for future considerations and the highest concentration of 300 mg.l-1 had an inhibitory effect on plant growth in length of the whole plant, aerial parts and most of the monitored root parameters.