Green synthesis of sulfur nanoparticles using Punica granatum peels and the effects on the growth of tomato by foliar spray applications

• Nano-sized sulfur synthesized by green and eco-friendly route using Punica granatum peels aqueous extract.
• The nan-sized SNPs were characterized using the techniques: XRD, FT-IR, and SEM-EDS.
• Nano-sized SNPs effect on tomato growth by foliar spraying was investigated.
• Nano-sized SNPs at 200 ppm promote tomato growth compared with control.

Sulfur nanoparticles (SNPs) have been successfully prepared from sodium thiosulfate in the presence of Punica granatum peels aqueous extract at room temperature. The resulting sulfur nanoparticles were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) equipped with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). Highly crystalline synthesized sulfur nanoparticles exhibiting high purity, spherical shape with average particle size of about 50 nm applied at a rate of 100 ppm, 200 ppm, and 300 ppm as foliar spray for tomato leaves. The obtained results revealed that the foliar spraying tomato leaves with 200 ppm sulfur nanoparticles are very beneficial to plant growth and produced healthy plant with greener leaves and high quality of tomato fruits compared with control.

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