A comparative evaluation of the effects of seed invigoration treatments with precursor zinc salt and nano-sized zinc oxide (ZnO) particles on vegetative growth, grain yield, and quality characteristics of Zea mays

Journal of Analytical Science and Technology

Table 3 Effect of seed treatments and concentration of Zn-source on grain nutrient content, starch, and total soluble protein content of maize crop (variety PMH-1) grown under field conditions

Seed treatment	Zn-source Concentration	Starch content (mg g⁻¹)	Protein content (mg g⁻¹)	N (g kg⁻¹)	K (g kg⁻¹)	P (g kg⁻¹)	Zn (mg kg⁻¹)
Priming	Control	626.68 ± 0.12	46.83 ± 0.15	0.34 ± 0.015	4.05 ± 0.015	0.87 ± 0.01	0.42 ± 0.020
	ZnSO₄_20	653.45 ± 0.14	49.15 ± 0.35	0.38 ± 0.010	6.65 ± 0.015	0.96 ± 0.01	0.75 ± 0.015
	ZnSO₄_40	654.25 ± 0.21	58.12 ± 0.27	0.49 ± 0.010	7.43 ± 0.015	1.14 ± 0.02	0.25 ± 0.010
	ZnONPs 20	654.25 ± 0.19	61.32 ± 2.33	0.64 ± 0.010	8.02 ± 0.010	1.23 ± 0.02	1.30 ± 0.010
	ZnONPs 40	680.29 ± 0.12	66.81 ± 4.72	0.71 ± 0.010	9.35 ± 0.010	1.16 ± 0.01	1.65 ± 0.015
Coating	Control	647.29 ± 0.13	58.12 ± 2.25	0.47 ± 0.010	6.15 ± 0.010	1.01 ± 0.01	0.83 ± 0.012
	ZnSO₄_20	680.26 ± 0.39	61.59 ± 3.13	0.62 ± 0.015	7.09 ± 0.153	1.17 ± 0.01	1.16 ± 0.015
	ZnSO₄_40	680.75 ± 1.53	69.67 ± 1.81	0.74 ± 0.010	9.46 ± 0.025	1.25 ± 0.02	1.25 ± 0.021
	ZnONPs 20	690.43 ± 1.75	76.37 ± 1.75	0.78 ± 0.010	10.43 ± 0.025	1.27 ± 0.02	1.54 ± 0.010
	ZnONPs 40	704.14 ± 1.82	76.48 ± 2.21	0.87 ± 0.010	11.15 ± 0.010	1.35 ± 0.01	2.04 ± 0.010
LSD = p ≤ 0.05		23.42	6.65	0.019	0.086	0.021	0.024