(PhysOrg.com) -- When we think of nanotubes, we often think of solar panels and physical science. However, it appears that nanotubes can also provide valuable help to plants as a fertilizer. Just add carbon nanotubes, say researchers at the University of Arkansas in Little Rock, and you can get plants that grow faster and bigger than their counterparts.
According to New Scientist, Mariya Khodakovskaya, a plant biologist, and Alexandru Biris, a nanotechnologist, used carbon nanotubes to encourage germination of tomato plants. Tomato seeds were planted, some with a growth medium containing carbon nanotubes, and some without nanotubes in the growth medium. It took only three days for more than 30% of the nanotube tomato seeds to begin sprouting. In that time, none of the non-treated seeds had even germinated.
In fact, it took 12 days for 32% of the tomato seeds without nanotube help to germinate.
After four weeks, the researchers noticed that the tomato plants that had been treated with carbon nanotubes had two times the biomass and two times the height of their non-treated counterparts. The current theory is that the nanotubes penetrate the seed coat of the tomato seeds, allowing water to more rapidly penetrate the seeds and boost their development.
Interestingly, the root systems were similar in all of the plants, so the nanotubes did not change the way the roots established themselves. Another issue is that the nanotubes seem to be causing abnormally long internodes, and that might affect the ultimate outcome regarding the viability of mature plants. Additionally, carbon nanotubes as fertilizer might present hazards when used for food plants, since they were found to trigger some toxic effects in mice.
In the end, though, it appears that carbon nanotubes may be more versatile than originally imagined.
More information: The research has been published in ACS Nano: Carbon Nanotubes Are Able To Penetrate Plant Seed Coat and Dramatically Affect Seed Germination and Plant Growth, DOI: 10.1021/nn900887m
© 2009 PhysOrg.com
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rincewind
3.7 / 5 (3) Oct 06, 2009The article ends in a massive understatement:
"...it appears that carbon nanotubes may be more versatile than originally imagined." - oh really?
gmurphy
3.5 / 5 (2) Oct 06, 2009danman5000
3.6 / 5 (5) Oct 06, 2009I also agree with rincewind - seems like every other day there's another article up here proclaiming a new miracle that nanotubes can perform. Boosts solar call efficiency, facilitates drug transport, make them conductors/semiconductors, and now they can replace miraclegrow! Oh what wonders will they come up with next? Sprinkle some on your head to regrow your hair!
freemind
Oct 07, 2009Going
3.5 / 5 (4) Oct 07, 2009ArtflDgr
5 / 5 (2) Oct 07, 2009ArtflDgr
5 / 5 (1) Oct 08, 2009not necessarily...
plasticpower
not rated yet Oct 12, 2009cybrbeast
not rated yet Oct 12, 2009Not true. Ash is not just carbon. Carbon mostly burns off when fire makes ash, that's where the CO2 comes from. The ash is composed of all the incombustible minerals. Potassium, calcium phosphorous etc. These are important fertilizers.