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Manganese sulfide nanospheres (MnS‐NSs) prepared in situ via sonochemical process were characterized to investigate the effect of nanoscale MnS on antifungal potential against mycopathogens of rice viz. Fusarium verticillioides, Drechslera oryzae and Curvularia lunata. MnS‐NSs dispersed in aqueous medium resulted in significant inhibition of growth of all the test fungi (ED50 ≤ 18 μg/ml) at concentration much lower than standard commercial fungicides (captan and carbendazim with ED50 ≥ 230 μg/ml) against respective fungi. The maximum per cent inhibition (98 ± 1.4) was recorded against C. lunata with a minimum ED50 value of 14 μg/ml, followed by D. oryzae and F. verticillioides with ED50 values of 17 and 18 μg/ml, respectively. Nanopriming of rice seeds with MnS‐NSs at 35 μg/ml for 8 hr resulted in significant reduction in seed rot (76%) and seedling blight (89.13%) along with enhancement in percent germination, root length, shoot length, dry weight and vigour index of seedlings by 33.7%, 55%, 66.3%, 85.3% and 89.3%, respectively, compared with control. Hydropriming of seeds was found to control the seed health parameters less effectively than nanopriming.

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Innovation in agriculture is a vital organ of research for sustainable food supply to the increasing global population. Organic compounds used as fungicidal agents against seed-borne pathogens are bracketed due to their toxic nature and residual effects, which are either already banned or may get banned in the near future. In this study, the surface and electric properties of nontoxic sepiolite have been blended with the antimicrobial properties of metabolizable MgO nanoforms (nMgO) as a greener alternative to prepare their nanocomposites. We compared a sepiolite-MgO (SE-MgO) nanocomposite with MgO nanoparticles in an aqua dispersed form (aqMgO-NPs) for their antifungal evaluation against various phytopathogenic fungi of rice. The SE-MgO nanocomposite was more potent in comparison to aqMgO-NPs with ED 90 > 230 and 249 μg/mL, respectively, against the test fungi better than standard fungicides. Ultramicroscopic studies revealed hyphal distortion and spore collapse as the cause of antimycotic activity. The in vitro seed treatment revealed 100% hyphal reduction with SE-MgO at 250 μg/mL of MgO as an active ingredient (a.i.). MgO and sepiolite both have been regarded as safe materials by international agencies; therefore, using their nanocomposites can be an effective, sustainable, nontoxic, eco-friendly, and residue-free strategy for combating fungal menace against phytopathogens.

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