Evaluating the Effects of Hydroxyapatite Nanoparticles on the Growth and Yield of Zingiber Officinale Roscoe

Chong, Wei Xian (2022) Evaluating the Effects of Hydroxyapatite Nanoparticles on the Growth and Yield of Zingiber Officinale Roscoe. Final Year Project (Bachelor), Tunku Abdul Rahman University College.

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Abstract

Ginger, scientifically known as Zingiber officinale Roscoe, is one of the economically important crops in the domestic and global market due to its versatile properties as a spice, flavoring agent and traditional medicine. As a consequence of the COVID-19 outbreak, gingers are further gaining popularity and the locally produced ginger may not be able to cope with the increasing demands. Conventional ginger cultivation required a longer time frame to harvest and for soil restoration, which limited the productivity of ginger. Hydroponics systems might solve the problem of land availability, shorten the time frame and thereby increase the productivity of ginger. Besides that, many synthetic fertilizers have low nutrient use efficiency (NUE). Nanofertilizers with the characteristic of delivering nutrients in a controlled manner showed the potential to overcome this problem. In this study, hydroxyapatite nanoparticles were synthesized and characterized. Experiments were conducted to study the effect of different concentrations of hydroxyapatite nanoparticles on growth, yield, chlorophyll contents, photosynthesis rate and bioactive components of hydroponically cultivated ginger. Cocopeat was selected as the soilless medium and the Hoagland solution with modified formula was used for regular fertigation. Within the thirteen weeks of cultivation, there were no significant differences observed among various treatments on the number of leaves, chlorophyll contents, photosynthesis rate and bioactive components at the tillering stage of ginger (P > 0.05). Plants treated with hydroxyapatite nanoparticles showed a significant increase in the number of leaves and chlorophyll content (P < 0.05) suggesting the potential of hydroxyapatite nanoparticles for the next growth and developmental stage of ginger. The result also showed that the concentration of hydroxyapatite nanoparticles may affect the amount of total phenolic content accumulated in rhizomes. Further research is needed to evaluate the potential of hydroxyapatite nanoparticles as an alternative supplementation of conventional fertilizer.