Zinc oxide nanoparticles coated urea enhances nitrogen efficiency and zinc bioavailability in wheat in alkaline calcareous soils.

Nitrogenous fertilizers have low efficiency in alkaline calcareous soils due to volatilization and denitrification. These losses cause economic environmental constraints. Coating of urea with nanoparticles (NPs) is an innovative strategy to improve crop yields by sustaining N availability. In the current study, zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) were synthesized by precipitation method and characterized for morphology and configuration, bond formation, and crystal assemblage using the X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscope (SEM). The SEM results confirmed the size of ZnO NPs in the size range of 25 nm with cuboid shape. Urea fertilizer, coated with ZnO NPs, was applied to wheat crop in a pot trial. Two rates of ZnO NPs at 2.8 and 5.7 mg kg-1 were selected to coat the commercial urea. A batch experiment was conducted to ensure the ammonium (NH4+) and nitrate (NO3-) ions release by amending the soil with ZnO NPs coated urea and comparing with non-amended soil. The gradual release of NH4+ was observed for 21 days from the ZnO NP-coated urea. In the second part of trial, seven different treatments of coated and uncoated urea were tested on wheat crop. Urea coated with ZnO nanoparticles at 5.7 mg kg-1 improved all growth attributes and yields. The ZnO NP coated urea increased the N content shoot (1.90 g 100g-1 DW) and potentially biofortified Zn content (47.86 mg kg-1) in wheat grain. The results are indicative of viability of a novel coating for commercial urea that will not only reduce N losses but also supplement Zn without additional cost of labor.

A Comprehensive Review of the Ethnotraditional Uses and Biological and Pharmacological Potential of the Genus Mimosa.

The Mimosa genus belongs to the Fabaceae family of legumes and consists of about 400 species distributed all over the world. The growth forms of plants belonging to the Mimosa genus range from herbs to trees. Several species of this genus play important roles in folk medicine. In this review, we aimed to present the current knowledge of the ethnogeographical distribution, ethnotraditional uses, nutritional values, pharmaceutical potential, and toxicity of the genus Mimosa to facilitate the exploitation of its therapeutic potential for the treatment of human ailments. The present paper consists of a systematic overview of the scientific literature relating to the genus Mimosa published between 1931 and 2020, which was achieved by consulting various databases (Science Direct, Francis and Taylor, Scopus, Google Scholar, PubMed, SciELO, Web of Science, SciFinder, Wiley, Springer, Google, The Plant Database). More than 160 research articles were included in this review regarding the Mimosa genus. Mimosa species are nutritionally very important and several species are used as feed for different varieties of chickens. Studies regarding their biological potential have shown that species of the Mimosa genus have promising pharmacological properties, including antimicrobial, antioxidant, anticancer, antidiabetic, wound-healing, hypolipidemic, anti-inflammatory, hepatoprotective, antinociceptive, antiepileptic, neuropharmacological, toxicological, antiallergic, antihyperurisemic, larvicidal, antiparasitic, molluscicidal, antimutagenic, genotoxic, teratogenic, antispasmolytic, antiviral, and antivenom activities. The findings regarding the genus Mimosa suggest that this genus could be the future of the medicinal industry for the treatment of various diseases, although in the future more research should be carried out to explore its ethnopharmacological, toxicological, and nutritional attributes.