Impact of Titanium on Growth and Forage Production of Maize (Zea mays L.) under Different Growth Stage

This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of titanium dioxide and titanium oxide foliar application during two growing stage on growth and forage production of maize during 2012 growing season in the research farm of Islamic Azad University of Varamin-Pishva Branch. The experimental design was randomized complete blocks arranged in factorial with four replications. The factors were included two growing stages i.e. four leafy stage and stem elongation for titanium application and five titanium concentration and sources including control (water) titanium oxide (Bulk) and three concentrations of 0.01, 0.02 and 0.03% of titanium dioxide nanoparticles. The results showed that titanium dioxide nanoparticle especially at stem elongation stage increased plant growth and dry matter accumulation in maize plant. Although, titanium oxide (bulk) had positive effect on biological yield, titanium dioxide nanoparticle produced the highest forage yield. In addition, among different concentrations of titanium dioxide nanoparticle, application 0.02% significantly improved plant growth; dry matter and final forage yield so that it can be recommended to earning more forage.