Impact of Synergistic Association of ZnO-Nanorods and Symbiotic Fungus DSM 11827 on var. botrytis (Broccoli).

In the present work, novel nanotool called 'nano-embedded fungus' formed by impact of synergistic association of ZnO-nanorods and fungus DSM 11827, for growth of var. botrytis (Broccoli) is reported. ZnO-nanorods were synthesized by mechanical assisted thermal decomposition process and characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) for morphology, X-ray diffraction for structural studies and UV-vis absorption spectroscopy for band gap determination. Nanoembedded fungus is prepared by optimizing ZnO-nanorods concentration (500 ppm) which resulted in the increased biomass of , as confirmed by dry weight method, spore count, spread plate and microscopy techniques viz. SEM and confocal microscopy. Enhancement in var. botrytis is reported on treatment with nanoembedded fungus. According to the authors, this is the first holistic study focusing on the impact of ZnO-nanorods in the enhancement of fungal symbiont for enhanced biomass productivity of plant.