ABSTRACT
Zea mays L. (Maize) is a major staple crop cultivated worldwide and they featured among the five essential food crops; cassava, maize, wheat, rice and sugar. Cultivation of the crop in some locality which is characterized with ferruginous soil topography, is faced with challenges which leads to a stunted plant development and low yield which is a thorn on the gross investment of the nation. Thus this study seeks to evaluate the effect of zinc nanoparticles on maize plant cultivated on a ferruginous soil. Green synthesis of zinc nanoparticles was achieved using Hibiscus sabdariffa leaf. In order to investigate the effect of zinc nanoparticles on maize cultivated on ferruginous soil, ferruginous soil were gotten from marked areas where the soils are available then sampled, then the maize seedlings were cultivated in the soil bagging’s, after one week of germination zinc nanoparticle was then applied through spraying of the foliar. The soil polluted with Iron (II) Sulfate (FeSO4) at different ecological screening value (0ESV, 1ESV, 3ESV and 5ESV), At 1 WBAZnPs (One week Before the Application of Zinc Nanoparticles) no significant difference was recorded among the various treatments, the lowest girth size measured was 2.00±4.72 cm. and was shown by the 3ESV treatment when no nanoparticle has been applied, towards the termination of the plants 8 WAAZnPs (Eight Weeks After the Application of Zinc Nanoparticles) the highest girth size measured was 3.60±0.37 cm at 3ESV (15%) Applied zinc nanoparticles, the lowest girth size measured was 1.90±0.00 cm observed at 3ESV (75%) nanoparticle. from the results, Iron (II) Sulfate, had little toxicity on Zea may. After the application of zinc nanoparticle the germination parameters indexes such as plant height, plant girth, the number of leaves, root length, root weight, and shoot weight on Zea mays seeds were enhanced plant.
