Protective role of zinc oxide nanoparticles based hydrogel against wilt disease of pepper plant

In the current study, eco-friendly superabsorbent hydrogel based on zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs) and watermelon peel waste (WPW) was utilized to protect the plant against Fusarium wilt. The designed hydrogel was characterized using IR and XRD, SEM and TGA. Results revealed that, the designed hydrogel exhibited promising antifungal activity towards phytopathogen F. oxysporum in-vitro. The characterization illustrated that the size of ZnO-NPs in range 10-20 nm. Likewise, the hydrogel is highly significantly reduced the wilt disease symptoms incidence caused by F. oxysporum of pepper plant. Additionally, pepper plants treated with hydrogel show variability in number, relative mobility and density of polypeptide polyphenol oxidase in the leaf healthy and infected with F. oxysporum under different levels of irrigation. In conclusion, the designed superabsorbent hydrogel based on ZnO-NPs and WPW has the ability to control of Fusarium wilt disease as well as to decrease the irrigation water for pepper plant to one-third.

Automated summary

The eco-friendly superabsorbent hydrogel based on ZnO-NPs and WPW showed promising antifungal activity against F. oxysporum, significantly reducing wilt disease symptoms incidence in pepper plants. Additionally, treated pepper plants exhibited variations in polyphenol oxidase levels between healthy and infected leaves under different irrigation levels.