Effect of seed and foliar application of nano-zinc oxide, zinc chelate, and zinc sulphate rates on yield and growth of pinto bean (<i>Phaseolus vulgaris</i>) cultivars

Abstract

Nanofertilizers have received considerable attention due to their increased uptake by plants. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the effect of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles and also different zinc (Zn) fertilizers (Zn sulfate, Zn chelate) on vegetative and yield traits of two pinto bean cultivars “KS21191” and “KS21193”. This experiment was a factorial based on completely randomized design with 24 treatments (three fertilizer applications and eight levels of Zn fertilizer). The results showed that twice foliar application compared to seed application and once foliar application improved growth and yield characteristics of both pinto bean cultivars. Also, compared to control treatment, zinc nanofertilizers improved vegetative characteristics (such as plant height, internode length, root and shoot dry, and fresh weight), yield (pods number and seed weight) and quality (zinc content in seed) of both pinto bean cultivars. Among the zinc fertilizer treatments, 0.10% and 0.15% of ZnO nanoparticles were as a superior treatment.