title: Effect of nanosilica and silicon sources on plant growth promoting rhizobacteria, soil nutrients and maize seed germination.
abstract: The study was aimed at evaluating the effect of nanosilica and different sources of silicon on soil properties, total bacterial population and maize seed germination. Nanosilica was synthesised using rice husk and characterised. Silica powder was amorphous (50 nm) with >99.9% purity. Sodium silicate treated soil inhibited plant growth promoting rhizobacteria in contrast to nanosilica and other bulk sources. Surface property and effect of soil nutrient content of nanosilica treatment were improved. Colony forming unit (CFU) was doubled in the presence of nanosilica from 4 × 105 CFU (control) to 8 × 105 CFU per gram of soil. The silica and protein content of bacterial biomass clearly showed an increase in uptake of silica with an increase in nanosilica concentration. Nanosilica promoted seed germination percentage (100%) in maize than conventional Si sources. These studies show that nanosilica has favourable effect on beneficial bacterial population and nutrient value of soil.
authors.forename: Gopalu
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Karunakaran
authors.forename: Rangaraj
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Suriyaprabha
authors.forename: Palanisamy
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Manivasakan
authors.forename: Rathinam
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Yuvakkumar
authors.forename: Venkatachalam
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Rajendran
authors.forename: Periyasamy
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Prabu
authors.forename: Narayanasamy
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kannan
mesh_terms: D001395:Azotobacter / Q000187:drug effects; D001407:Bacillus / Q000187:drug effects; D018525:Germination; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D012275:Oryza / Q000737:chemistry; D010944:Plants / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000382:microbiology; D011549:Pseudomonas / Q000187:drug effects; D012639:Seeds / Q000187:drug effects; D017640:Silicates / Q000737:chemistry; D012822:Silicon Dioxide / Q000737:chemistry*; D012988:Soil Microbiology; D013234:Stem Cells; D003313:Zea mays / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000382:microbiology
chemical_list: D017640:Silicates; D012822:Silicon Dioxide; C005691:sodium silicate