Sustainable Changes in the Contents of Metallic Micronutrients in First Generation Gram Seeds Imposed by Carbon Nano-onions: Life Cycle Seed to Seed Study

Plant-nanocarbon interactions have been mostly explored for enhanced germination, cell growth, and plant growth, with a limited study on the productivity of seeds under controlled conditions. The present finding reports the sustainable impacts of biowaste (wood wool) derived nanocarbons as carbon nano-onions (CNOs) on the entire life cycle of gram plants to obtain the first generation seeds (FGSs) as “seed to seed”. A water-soluble version of CNOs as water-soluble carbon nano-onions (wsCNOs) at 0 (control), 10, 20, and 30 μg mL ^-1 were used for the germination of gram seeds, for the initial 10 days only. Followed by transferring of 10 days old baby plants into the soil to complete their natural life cycle (∼4 months). FGSs harvested from the wsCNOs treated plants showed a significant increase in their yield and health with respect to their individual weight, overall dimensions, enhanced protein, stored electrolytes and metallic micronutrient contents. The protein content increased from 96 to 170 μg mL ^-1, and the level of electrolytic conductivity increased from 2.2 to 3.4 mS in the FGSs, harvested from the plants treated with 0 (control) to 30 μg mL ^-1 of wsCNOs, respectively. wsCNOs used here were presumably acting as a stimulant to increase the contents of metallic micronutrients (Mn, Mo, Cu, Zn, Fe, and Ni) in FGSs without showing its inside accumulations as a contaminant examined by transmission electron microscope (TEM) and Raman spectral analysis. In the future, a sustainable approach for the utilization of wood waste as a nanofertilizer could provide a possible approach in agricultural science to overcome the shortage of stored nutrients inside the seeds and also to limit the excessive use of fertilizers.