Nanotechnology offers new opportunities for the development of novel materials and strategies that improve technology and industry. This applies especially to agriculture, and our previous field studies have indicated that zinc oxide nanoparticles provide promising nano-fertilizer dispersion in sustainable agriculture. However, little is known about the precise ZnO-NP effects on legumes. Herein, 1 mg·L-1 ZnO-NP spray was dispersed on lentil plants to establish the direct NP effects on lentil production, seed nutritional quality, and stress response under field conditions. Although ZnO-NP exposure positively affected yield, thousand-seed weight and the number of pods per plant, there was no statistically significant difference in nutrient and anti-nutrient content in treated and untreated plant seeds. In contrast, the lentil water stress level was affected, and the stress response resulted in statistically significant changes in stomatal conductance, crop water stress index, and plant temperature. Foliar application of low ZnO-NP concentrations therefore proved promising in increasing crop production under field conditions, and this confirms ZnO-NP use as a viable strategy for sustainable agriculture.

Department of Chemistry Rajiv Gandhi University of Knowledge Technologies AP IIIT Krishna District Nuzvid 521202 India

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Montclair State University 1 Normal Ave Montclair NJ 070 43 USA

Institute of Agronomic Sciences Faculty of Agrobiology and Food Resources Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra Tr A Hlinku 2 949 76 Nitra Slovakia

Institute of Laboratory Research on Geomaterials Faculty of Natural Sciences Comenius University in Bratislava Mlynska Dolina Ilkovičová 6 842 15 Bratislava Slovakia

Institute of Landscape Engineering Faculty of Horticulture and Landscape Engineering Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra Hospodárska 7 949 76 Nitra Slovakia

Institute of Plant and Environmental Sciences Faculty of Agrobiology and Food Resources Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra Tr A Hlinku 2 949 76 Nitra Slovakia

Nanotechnology Centre CEET VŠB Technical University of Ostrava 17 listopadu 15 2172 708 00 Ostrava Poruba Czech Republic

School of Ecology and Environmental Science Yunnan University 2 Cuihubei Lu Kunming 650091 China

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