Homero Gonzalez

Mr. Homero Gonzalez


Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

10Years (2017-Present)

(Calculated once Scilit publication data is synced: current year − year of first publication + 1)

Representative Publications

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22 June 2017 in Molecules
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
PDF file
HGHomero Gonzalez
Homero Gonzalez
FGFrancisca Ramírez Godina
Francisca Ramírez Godina
HOHortensia Ortega
Hortensia Ortega
Adalberto Benavides-MendozaAdalberto Benavides-Mendoza
Adalberto Benavides-Mendoza
VTValentín Robledo Torres
Valentín Robledo Torres
MFMarcelino Cabrera De la Fuente
Marcelino Cabrera De la Fuente
Modern agriculture requires alternative practices that improve crop growth without negatively affecting the environment, as resources such as water and arable land grow scarcer while the human population continues to increase. Grafting is a cultivation technique that allows the plant to be more efficient in its utilization of water and nutrients, while nanoscale material engineering provides the opportunity to use much smaller quantities of consumables compared to conventional systems but with similar or superior effects. On those grounds, we evaluated the effects of chitosan-polyvinyl alcohol hydrogel with absorbed copper nanoparticles (Cs-PVA-nCu) on leaf morphology and plant growth when applied to grafted watermelon cultivar ‘Jubilee’ plants. Stomatal density (SD), stomatal index (SI), stoma length (SL), and width (SW) were evaluated. The primary stem and root length, the stem diameter, specific leaf area, and fresh and dry weights were also recorded. Our results demonstrate that grafting induces modifications to leaf micromorphology that favorably affect plant growth, with grafted plants showing better vegetative growth in spite of their lower SD and SI values. Application of Cs-PVA-nCu was found to increase stoma width, primary stem length, and root length by 7%, 8% and 14%, respectively. These techniques modestly improve plant development and growth.