Aplicação de ZnO nanoestruturado na agricultura

Abstract

In this study we attempted to produce two fertilizers with ZnO nanoparticles and also attempted to characterize and apply them in order to establish a comparison between the distribution of particle sizes and levels of implementation, using as basis a micronized commercial fertilizer keeping the concentration. To produce these fertilizers it was used the technologie called Top-Down using the technique of high energy milling among with characterization techniques such as scanning electron microscopy with field emission gun (SEM-FEG), analysis of micrographs using the software ImageJ obtaining the distribution of particle size, analysis of content and heavy metals by an ICP-OES, pH, specific gravity, viscosity and premature aging test. It was noticed that during the aging tests there was a precipitation, what indicated that the suspending agent was not effective. After a year and three months the distributions of particle size was analyzed and there was no significant change, demonstrating that the increased amount of dispersant was appropriate. The agronomic tests were divided into two phases, the first one was used to collect data about which of the two fertilizers would have the best performance and the second one was used to understand what the correct dosage and the best way of application. At the first test it was only possible to notice the difference between the two at a dosage of 37.5 ml/ha, the smallest of all. The fertilizer Nano Zinc 5 produced the better results. At the second test, when the fertilizer Nano Zinc 5 was tested in various dosages and applications at seeds and leaves, the best result in mg/kg at the leaf and grain was the 50 mL. The applications that have brought higher average number of seeds per pod were the one with 100 mL/ha by seed, 50 mL/ha via seed and 100 mL/ha on the leaves. The applications that have brought greater average weight of grain per plant were 200 mL/ha by leaves, 100 mL/ha by leaves, 50 ml/ha by seeds, 200 mL/ha by seeds and 100 mL/ha by seeds. Regarding productivity, applications with higher productivity are in the same sequence of average mass per grain. These results demonstrate the efficiency and feasibility of producing a fertilizer on the nanometer scale.