Skip to main navigation menu Skip to main content Skip to site footer
Plant Science Today (PST)

Research Articles

Vol. 13 No. sp5 (2026): Recent Advances in Agriculture

Effect of foliar application of nano CaO, ZnO and boron on fruit quality and nutrient uptake in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.)

DOI
https://doi.org/10.14719/pst.15793
Submitted
1 June 2026
Published
31-07-2026

Abstract

A field experiment was conducted during the rabi 2020–21 and 2021–22 at Professor Jayashankar Telangana Agricultural University, Telangana, India to evaluate the effect of foliar applications of nano calcium oxide (CaO), nano zinc oxide (ZnO) and nano boron (B) individually and in combination on tomato cv. US-440. A total of 19 treatments were tested in a randomised block design (RBD) with 3 replications. Foliar sprays were applied at 30 and 45 days after transplanting (DAT). The combined application of nano CaO (600 ppm) + nano ZnO (1000 ppm) + nano B (400 ppm) (T7) significantly improved fruit quality by increasing ascorbic acid (26.41 mg 100 g-1) and titratable acidity (0.51 %), while reducing TSS (3.59 °Brix), total sugars (2.70 %), reducing sugars (2.23 %) and lycopene (5.16 mg 100 g-1). T7 also recorded the highest leaf concentrations of calcium (Ca) (1.89 %), zinc (Zn) (38.20 ppm) and B (42.43 ppm) and the highest fruit Zn content (65.79 ppm), whereas nano CaO (600 ppm) + nano ZnO (750 ppm) + nano B (400 ppm) (T8) recorded maximum fruit Ca (0.85 %) and B (44.17 ppm). Additionally, T7 minimised blossom end rot (2.93 %) and fruit cracking (3.03 %). The superior performance of nanonutrients was attributed to their greater surface area, enhanced absorption efficiency and targeted nutrient delivery. The findings demonstrate the potential of combined nano CaO, nano ZnO and nano B application to improve tomato fruit quality and nutrient use efficiency under field conditions.

References

  1. 1. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. Food Data Central: Tomatoes, red, ripe, raw, year-round average (FDC ID: 170457). 2025.
  2. 2. Behera SK, Srivastava S, Jha P, Mishra R, Meena BP, Shukla AK. Soil fertility status of Indian soils. Indian Journal of Fertilisers. 2025;21(11):1052–66.
  3. 3. Dimkpa CO, Bindraban PS. Nanofertilisers: new products for the industry? Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. 2017;66(26):6462–73. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jafc.7b02150
  4. 4. Liu R, Lal R, Nawab K. Potential of nanoparticles as slow-release nitrogen fertilisers on corn growth and nitrogen use efficiency. J Agric Food Chem. 2005;53(2):2392–402.
  5. 5. Ybaez QE, Sanchez PB, Badayos RB. Synthesis and characterization of nano zinc oxide foliar fertiliser and its influence on yield and postharvest quality of tomato. Philippine Agricultural Scientist. 2020;103(1):55–65. https://doi.org/10.62550/IH24071018
  6. 6. Bhardwaj G, Brar PS, Chauhan A, Kaushal R, Sharma U. Effect of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles on morphological traits, yield and uptake in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) and bell pepper (Capsicum annuum). Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences. 2025;95(12):1512–8. https://doi.org/10.56093/ijas.v95i12.156950
  7. 7. Rajani D, Padma M, Raj Kumar M, Kiran A, Vijaya M, Padmaja G. Effect of foliar spraying of nano boron on qualitative parameters of tomato grown in polybags. International Journal of Environment and Climate Change. 2022;12(11):1171–7. https://doi.org/10.9734/ijecc/2022/v12i1131094
  8. 8. Parra-Torrejon B, Caceres A, Sanchez M, Sainz L, Guzman M, Bermudez-Perez FJ, et al. Multifunctional nanomaterials for biofortification and protection of tomato plants. Environmental Science & Technology. 2023;57(40):14950–60. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.3c02559
  9. 9. Prasad TNVK, Sudhakar P, Sreenivasulu Y, Latha P, Munaswamy V, Raja Reddy K, et al. Effect of nanoscale zinc oxide particles on the germination, growth and yield of peanut. Journal of Plant Nutrition. 2012;35:905–27. https://doi.org/10.1080/01904167.2012.663443
  10. 10. Ranganna S. Handbook of analysis and quality control for fruit and vegetable products. New Delhi: Tata McGraw-Hill; 1986.
  11. 11. Srivastava RP, Kumar S. Fruit and vegetable preservation. Lucknow: International Book Distributing Co.; 2002.
  12. 12. AOAC International. Official methods of analysis of AOAC International. 21st ed. Rockville (MD): AOAC International; 2019.
  13. 13. Kalra YP, editor. Handbook of reference methods for plant analysis. Boca Raton (FL): CRC Press; 1998.
  14. 14. Patro SGK, Sahu KK. Normalization: a preprocessing stage. arXiv Preprint. 2015;arXiv:1503.06462. https://doi.org/10.17148/IARJSET.2015.2305
  15. 15. Xu M, Ji S, Pang S, Lu Y, Li S, Xu W. Regulatory mechanisms of total soluble solids in tomato: from QTL mapping to gene editing. Foods. 2025;14(21):3692. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods14213692
  16. 16. Rohani MY, Zaipun MZ, Norhayati M. Effect of calcium treatment on strawberry storage. MARDI Res Ann. 1997;25(1):1–8.
  17. 17. Islam MZ, Mele MA, Choi KY, Kang HM. Cherry tomato qualities affected by foliar spraying of calcium and boron. Hortic Environ Biotechnol. 2016;57(6):46–52. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13580-016-0097-6
  18. 18. Marschner H, editor. Marschner's mineral nutrition of higher plants. London: Academic Press; 2011.
  19. 19. Swetha M, Swamy GN, Babu JD. Influence of calcium and boron on tomato quality. J Pharmacogn Phytochem. 2018;7(6):498–501.
  20. 20. Malik AA, Narayan S, Magray MM, Shameem SA, Hussain K, Bangroo S. Effect of foliar application of micronutrients on growth, yield, quality and seed yield of chilli (Capsicum annuum L.) under temperate conditions of Kashmir Valley. Int J Chem Stud. 2020;8(4):2781–4. https://doi.org/10.22271/chemi.2020.v8.i4ag.10064
  21. 21. Mosa WFA, Abdelgawad KF, Latif MA. Improving storability and quality of mango fruits using calcium treatments. IOSR J Agric Vet Sci. 2015;8(3):10–9.
  22. 22. Salam A, Hollington P, Mirajkar S, Alam MZ. Effect of foliar boron and calcium on tomato yield and quality. J Plant Nutr Soil Sci. 2010;173(5):770–3.
  23. 23. Melkamu M, Seyoum T, Woldetsadik K. Effects of pre- and postharvest treatments on sugar content of tomato. Afr J Biotechnol. 2008;7(8):1139–44.
  24. 24. Zakaria S, Ragab ME, El-Yazied AA, Rageh MA, Farroh KY, Salaheldin TA. Improving strawberry quality using calcium nanoparticles. Middle East J Agric Res. 2018;7(3):1023–40.
  25. 25. Haleema B, Rab A, Hussain SA, Sajid M, Shah HU. Growth, yield and quality of tomato as affected by foliar application of silicon and zinc. Pure Appl Biol. 2020;9(1):618–29.
  26. 26. Njoroge SM, Kays SJ, Resurreccion AVA. Influence of calcium on volatile compounds of tomato. HortScience. 1998;33(2):223–6.
  27. 27. Blevins DG, Lukaszewski KM. Boron in plant structure and function. Annu Rev Plant Physiol Plant Mol Biol. 1998;49(1):481–500. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.arplant.49.1.481
  28. 28. Davis JM, Sanders DC, Nelson PV, Lengnick L, Sperry WJ. Boron improves growth, yield, quality and nutrient content of tomato. J Am Soc Hortic Sci. 2003;128(3):441–6. https://doi.org/10.21273/JASHS.128.3.441
  29. 29. Rab A, Haq IU. Foliar application of calcium chloride and borax influences tomato growth and quality. J Anim Plant Sci. 2012;22(1):168–72.
  30. 30. Abbasi N, Zafar L, Khan HA, Qureshi AA. Effects of naphthalene acetic acid and calcium chloride application on nutrient uptake, growth, yield and postharvest performance of tomato fruit. Pak J Bot. 2013;45(5):1581–7.
  31. 31. Loomis WD, Durst RW. Chemistry and biology of boron. BioFactors. 1992;3(4):229–39.
  32. 32. Schlegel TK, Schönherr J. Calcium penetration into apple fruits. J Plant Nutr Soil Sci. 2002;165(6):738–45. https://doi.org/10.1002/jpln.200290012
  33. 33. Azeez L, Adekoya AE, Ogungbenle HN, Babatunde SK. Foliar application of nano-calcium and its effect on growth, mineral composition and antioxidant activities of Moringa oleifera. Heliyon. 2020;6(8).
  34. 34. Park JR, Jang YH, Kyung Chung I, Kim KM. Effect of nanosized calcium and magnesium particles on absorption in peach tree leaves. Can J Plant Sci. 2021;102(2):293–300. https://doi.org/10.1139/cjps-2020-0271
  35. 35. Ojeda-Barrios DL, Perea-Portillo E, Hernandez-Rodriguez OA, Ávila-Quezada G, Abadía J, Abadía A. Foliar zinc fertilization in pecan trees. HortScience. 2014;49(4):562–6. https://doi.org/10.21273/HORTSCI.49.5.562
  36. 36. Davarpanah S, Tehranifar A, Davarynejad G, Abadía J, Khorasani R. Effects of foliar application of zinc and boron nano-fertilisers on pomegranate (Punica granatum cv. Ardestani). Sci Hortic. 2016;210:57–64. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scienta.2016.07.003
  37. 37. Noema A, Abou-Khater L, Pattee HE, Gómez D. Boron application enhances seed content and nitrogen fixation in faba bean. Agronomy. 2019;9(9):568.
  38. 38. Amini R, Babalar M, Sarcheshmeh MAA. Effect of nano-calcium treatment on postharvest quality attributes of sweet pepper (Capsicum annuum L.). J Food Sci Technol. 2016;53(9):3525–31.
  39. 39. Mahamoud SA, Abd El-Mageed TA, El-Sherif AMA, Saudy HS. Zinc application enhances growth, quality and nutrient use efficiency of radish. Biosci Res. 2019;16(1):665–73.
  40. 40. Marzouk HA, Kassem HA. Improving fruit quality and yield of Zaghloul dates using fertilisers. Sci Hortic. 2019;127(3):249–54. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scienta.2010.10.005

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.