EFFECT OF MGO NANO-PARTICLES ON THE GROWTH AND YIELD OF SOYBEAN (Glycine Max (L.) MERR

This study examined the effects of magnesium oxide nanoparticles (MgO-NPs) on soybean (Glycine max) growth and yield using a randomized design with five replicates. Treatments included Nano-20, Nano-40, Nano-60, Nano-80, Nano-100, salt, and NPK fertilizer. Results showed that salt treatment produced the tallest plants (24.2 cm) compared to the control (21.4 cm). Nano-80 had the highest number of leaves (21.2), while Nano-100 had the longest leaves (5.11 cm). Salt and Nano-40 had the most branches (9.8), and salt and NPK fertilizer had the highest stem diameter (0.69 cm and 0.62 cm, respectively). Phenological analysis indicated that Nano-40 and Nano-100 significantly influenced flowering, with Nano-40 producing the most flowers (5.90) in 57 days, while Nano-100 had 5.80 flowers in 54.5 days. Growth yield results showed that Nano-40 and Nano-100 had the highest pod numbers (12.00 and 11.30, respectively). Nano-60 had the longest pods (4.66 cm), while Nano-20 followed with 4.42 cm. Nano-20, Nano-40, and Nano-80 had similar seed numbers per pod (3.00). Nano-60 recorded the highest total pod weight (2.92 g), followed by Nano-80 (2.82 g). NPK fertilizer and Nano-60 had the highest total seed weights (2.33 g and 2.21 g, respectively). These findings suggest that nanoparticle treatments significantly enhance soybean growth, flowering, and yield, demonstrating their potential for optimizing crop management and advancing sustainable agriculture.