Fertilizer that includes carbon nanotubes makes plants grow faster and better, according to a new paper in the journal ACS Nano. So how long until we can have slapstick pratfalls with Buick-sized tomatoes? Let it be now!
Apparently, the carbon nanotubes help with water uptake, and seeds exposed to carbon nanotubes contain more moisture. Actually, it doesn’t look like this tech will be leading to giant fruits and vegetables in the near future — for now, here’s what the researchers, from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock’s Nanotech Center said:
Here, we demonstrated that the exposure of carbon nanotubes to seeds of valuable crops, such as tomatoes, can increase the germination percentage and support and enhance the growth of seedlings. Furthering these findings could result in significant developments of improved plants for the area of energy, by taking advantage of the enhancement in the biomass of the plants when they are exposed to nanosized materials and fertilizers.
And here’s a cool picture:
[ACS Nano via Technology Review]
