Uncoated silver nanoparticles (99.99% purity, 20 nm diameter)
were acquired in solid form from US Research Nanomaterials, Inc.,Houston, Texas, USA. The experimental soil was collected from the
top 30 cmof an agricultural corn field in Diepenbeek, in the eastern
part of Belgium (5056005.300N 524041.200E), and was characterized
as sandy loam (55% sand, 30% silt, 15% clay) with a pH of 6.98, an
electrical conductivity (EC) of 335 mS cm1 and an effective cationexchange
capacity (CEC) of 20.7 meq/100 g. After collection, the soil
was 6 mm sieved and homogenized. Zea mays variety LG 30.223
seeds were obtained from LimaGrain Belgium.