Comparative account of antifungal activity of green and chemically synthesized Zinc Oxide nanoparticles in combination with agricultural fungicides

Abstract

The present study aims at study on combined effect of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO) with common agricultural fungicides. Nanoparticles were synthesized using chemical reduction process and characterized by UV-Visible spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). Synthesized nanoparticles were observed to be in size range of 12-63 nm as confirmed by TEM micrograph. DLS established polydisperse nature of nanoparticles and provided effective hydrodynamic diameter of 76.15 nm, confirming the hypothesis of particles being in nano range. Nanoparticles were tested against fungal phytopathogens, namely <em>A. alternata, A. niger, B. cinerea, F. oxysporum </em>and <em>P. expansum</em>. Nanoparticles used in the study exhibited good antifungal activity. Both classes of nanoparticles (green and chemically synthesized) w