Effect of Zirconium Oxide and Yttrium oxide Nanoparticles on Plant Germination of Cucumis Sativus

Nanoparticals of earth metal oxides were widely used and applied in agriculture, precisely in germination. In this study Yttrium oxide and Zirconium oxide were used in the germination of Cucumis seeds. The seeds were immersed in sterile water or metal oxide nanoparticles (NPs) suspensions for 2 hrs, fourteen treatments were done, then every ten seeds were transferred into a Petri dish with a filter paper on the each Petri dish. The germination was conducted in dark at 25°C for 5 days. After that, the germination rate, the root length and shoot length were measured and it was found that Zirconium + Gibbriline gave the best parameters in comparison with the other treatment. The mechanism of metal oxide NP phytotoxicity is related to the NP species, test plants, concentration, chemical composition, surface modification and particle size of the nanoparticles itself.