Antifungal Potential of Green Synthesized Magnetite Nanoparticles Black Coffee-Magnetite Nanoparticles Against Wilt Infection by Ameliorating Enzymatic Activity and Gene Expression in L.

Tomato plants are prone to various biotic and abiotic stresses. Fusarium wilt is one of the most devasting diseases of tomatoes caused by f. sp. , causing high yield and economic losses annually. Magnetite nanoparticles (FeO NPs) are one of the potent candidates to inhibit fungal infection by improving plant growth parameters. Spinach has been used as a starting material to synthesize green-synthesized iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs). Various extracts, i.e., pomegranate juice, white vinegar, pomegranate peel, black coffee (BC), aloe vera peel, and aspirin, had been used as reducing/stabilizing agents to tune the properties of the FeO NPs. After utilizing spinach as a precursor and BC as a reducing agent, the X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern showed cubic magnetite (FeO) phase. Spherical-shaped nanoparticles (∼20 nm) with superparamagnetic nature indicated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) monographs, whereas energy-dispersive X-ray gives good elemental composition in FeO NPs. A characteristic band of Fe-O at ∼ 561 cm was exhibited by the Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrum. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) results confirmed the binding energies of Fe 2p (∼710.9 eV) and Fe 2p (∼724.5 eV) while, Raman bands at ∼310 cm (T ), ∼550 cm (T ), and 670 cm (A ) indicated the formation of FeO NPs synthesized using BC extract. The activity of BC-FeO NPs significantly inhibited the mycelial growth of both at the third and seventh day after incubation, in a dose-dependent manner. studies also exhibited a substantial reduction in disease severity and incidence by improving plant growth parameters after treatment with different concentrations of BC-FeO NPs. The increasing tendency in enzymatic activities had been measured after treatment with different concentrations of NPs both in roots and shoot of tomato plants as compared to the control. Correspondingly, the upregulation of PR-proteins and defense genes are in line with the results of the enzymatic activities. The outcome of the present findings suggests that FeO NPs has the potential to control wilt infection by enhancing plant growth. Hence, FeO NPs, being non-phytotoxic, have impending scope in the agriculture sector to attain higher yield by managing plant diseases.