Protective role of zinc oxide nanoparticles based hydrogel against wilt disease of pepper plant

In the current study, eco-friendly superabsorbent hydrogel based on zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs) and watermelon peel waste (WPW) was utilized to protect the plant against Fusarium wilt. The designed hydrogel was characterized using IR and XRD, SEM and TGA. Results revealed that, the designed hydrogel exhibited promising antifungal activity towards phytopathogen F. oxysporum in-vitro. The characterization illustrated that the size of ZnO-NPs in range 10–20 nm. Likewise, the hydrogel is highly significantly reduced the wilt disease symptoms incidence caused by F. oxysporum of pepper plant. Additionally, pepper plants treated with hydrogel show variability in number, relative mobility and density of polypeptide polyphenol oxidase in the leaf healthy and infected with F. oxysporum under different levels of irrigation. In conclusion, the designed superabsorbent hydrogel based on ZnO-NPs and WPW has the ability to control of Fusarium wilt disease as well as to decrease the irrigation water for pepper plant to one-third. ●Novel superabsorbent hydrogel based on ZnO-NPs and WPW was synthesized●The hydrogel had ability to decrease irrigation water to one-third in the agricultural soil●The hydrogel had ability to promote the growth of pepper plant.●The hydrogel exhibited high ability to control Fusarium wilt disease