ELUCIDATING THE IMPACT OF NANOAGRICHEMICALS ON PADDY SOIL HEALTH AND RICE PRODUCTION THROUGH COMBINED GREENHOUSE STUDIES AND MACHINE LEARNING

With an increasing role of nanotechnology in advancing agricultural productivity and in society, it is imperative to understand the consequences of intentionally or incidentally introduced nanoparticles on soil health because previous sudies have shown that nanoparticles closely interact with many components of the soil matrix. In particular, the impact of prolonged exposure to nanoparticles over several generationson soil health and crop production must be known to ensure sustainable applications of nanotechnology in agriculture. The overaching goal of this project is to systematically assess the multigenerational impact of two engineered nanoparticles: zinc oxide and copper oxide nanoparticles, their transformed products and bulk and ionic forms on paddy soil health and rice production over four generations. Rice system is selected due to the unique biogeochemistry observed in paddy soil and the global significance of rice as a staple food. Specific objectives include: (1) determine the impact of chosen nanoparticles and their bulk and ionic counterparts on representative chemical and biological soil health parameters, (2) evaluate their effects on rice production and grain quality, (3) elucidate the multigenerational impact of these chemicals on soil health and rice production at different application scenarios, and (4) explore the essential connections of different soil parameters, soil health and crop yield through machine learning.