The aim of the present study is to evaluate the potential of chitosan and chitosan nanoparticles (ChNPs) in enhancing the growth and yield of finger millet under greenhouse condition. Foliar application of ChNPs significantly enhanced the growth, yield and mineral content (Fe, Zn, Mn, P, Ca, Mg) when compared to the chitosan and untreated control. ChNPs also induced several defense related enzymes (chitinase, β-1,3 glucanase, chitosanase, protease inhibitors, peroxidase, polyphenol oxidase) in leaves of finger millet plants their by enhancing the innate immune response. This quantitative difference in defense enzymes was also detected qualitatively on polyacrylamide gels. Our results suggest that ChNPs application can be used as an ecofriendly approach to enhance yield and mineral content in finger millet for sustainable production.

本研究的目的是评估在温室条件下壳聚糖和壳聚糖纳米颗粒（ChNPs）在增强小米生长和产量方面的潜力。与壳聚糖和未经处理的对照相比，叶面喷施ChNPs显着提高了生长，产量和矿物质含量（Fe，Zn，Mn，P，Ca，Mg）。ChNPs还通过增强先天免疫应答，在小米植株的叶片中诱导了几种防御相关酶（几丁质酶，β-1,3葡聚糖酶，壳聚糖酶，蛋白酶抑制剂，过氧化物酶，多酚氧化酶）。在聚丙烯酰胺凝胶上也可以定量检测到防御酶的这种数量差异。我们的结果表明，ChNPs的应用可以作为一种生态友好的方法来提高小米的产量和矿物质含量，以实现可持续生产。