A Novel Enterococcus-Based Nanofertilizer Promotes Seedling Growth and Vigor in Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

Excessive use of chemical fertilizers poses significant environmental and health concerns. Microbial-based biofertilizers are increasingly being promoted as safe alternatives. However, they have limitations such as gaining farmers' trust, the need for technical expertise, and the variable performance of microbes in the field. The development of nanobiofertilizers as agro-stimulants and agro-protective agents for climate-smart and sustainable agriculture could overcome these limitations. In the present study, auxin-producing Enterococcus sp. SR9, based on its plant growth-promoting traits, was selected for the microbe-assisted synthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs). These microbial-nanoparticles SR9AgNPs were characterized using UV/Vis spectrophotometry, scanning electron microscopy, and a size analyzer. To test the efficacy of SR9AgNPs compared to treatment with the SR9 isolate alone, the germination rates of cucumber (Cucumis sativus), tomato (Solanum lycopersicum), and wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) seeds were analyzed. The data revealed that seeds simultaneously treated with SR9AgNPs and SR9 showed better germination rates than untreated control plants. In the case of vigor, wheat showed the most positive response to the nanoparticle treatment, with a higher vigor index than the other crops analyzed. The toxicity assessment of SR9AgNPs demonstrated no apparent toxicity at a concentration of 100 ppm, resulting in the highest germination and biomass gain in wheat seedlings. This work represents the first step in the characterization of microbial-assisted SR9AgNPs and encourages future studies to extend these conclusions to other relevant crops under field conditions.