Controlling pre-harvest sprouting of wheat through nanonetworks

To address the severe problem of pre-harvest sprouting of wheat, we fabricated and tested a nanonetwork-structured nanocomposite using palygorskite (Pal) modified by amino silicon oil (ASO). The nanocomposite was used as a nanonet membrane (NNM) on the surface of wheat seeds to effectively inhibit pre-harvest sprouting (PHS). The NNM made the surface of the wheat seeds rougher and formed a hydrophobic nanomembrane on the surface of the wheat ears, effectively preventing the wheat seeds from adsorbing water. The PHS ratio of wheat decreased by 51.4% in the experimental group compared to the control. This study provides a promising approach to prevent wheat pre-harvest sprouting, which has potential value for application to wheat production.