The Effect of a Nanoparticle Technology on Nutrition and Establishment of Switchgrass.

Switchgrass, which is considered a prime biofuel candidate crop, is challenging to establish. One of the primary reasons for this is that its early growth rate is often slow or weak. This can result in poor stands and/or long establishment periods, both of which reduce productivity and can even result in costly stand failure. As the biofuel economy expands, switchgrass growers need solutions to improve the vigor of early crop growth, improving establishment. Here we report on a preliminary study in which we tested a commercially available nanoparticle technology, which is hypothesized to enhance nutrient delivery to plants, for its impact on establishment of switchgrass. The nanoparticle technology was added to a dilute solution containing essential plant nutrients and applied to the foliage of switchgrass plants on a weekly basis for three months. Groups of plants were destructively harvested and monitored monthly to track nanoparticle impacts on shoot biomass, tiller number, SPAD chlorophyll index, root biomass, and root length.