NANOFERTILISERS IN SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE: FOLIAR APPLICATION OF ZINC TO ENHANCE PRODUCTIVITY OF MAIZE

In recent years, nanotechnologies enforce into practice a new generation of foliar fertilisers containing nanomaterials. The zinc hydroxide nitrate (ZHN) has been recently estimated as prospective nanofertiliser, possessing improved zinc solubility, but low phytotoxicity, in comparison with other Zn-containing compounds. The objective of this study was to investigate the impact of foliar fertilisation by zinc in the form of nanosized zinc hydroxy nitrate suspension alone and mixed with other nutrients on maize. The impact of foliar applied zinc on other micro and macroelements was also estimated. The experiment was performed by the randomised block design with seven variants in 3 replications. Seven suspension solutions with different Zn concentration were used, including commercial ZnO, synthesised by us ZnHN alone and mixed with Zn(NO3)(2) or other nutrients. The size of the harvesting plots was 20 m(2). Fertilisation and irrigation were the same for all variants. It was concluded that the nanosized zinc hydroxy nitrate has potential as a long-term foliar fertiliser.