Comparative Efficiency of Nano and Chelated Forms of Iron, Zinc and Manganese for Improvement Yield and Water Use Efficiency of Faba Bean Grown under Drought Stress | ||||
| Egyptian Journal of Soil Science | ||||
| Volume 65, Issue 1, March 2025 | ||||
| Document Type: Original Article | ||||
| DOI: 10.21608/ejss.2025.351521.1960 | ||||
 View on SCiNiTO | ||||
| Authors | ||||
Mohamed H. Sheta   ; Ramadan A.-M. Abou El-Khair; Salim S. Shawer; Faysil J. Salim
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| Soils and Water Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Al-Azhar University, Cairo 11884, Egypt. | ||||
| Abstract | ||||
| Drought is a highly damaging abiotic stress that affects crops' development, functioning, productivity, and quality. In contemporary farming, nanoparticles are advantageous because of their extensive surface area and enhanced ability to penetrate plant leaves when applied as a spray. Lately, nano-fertilizers have been employed in agriculture to help reduce the negative impacts of drought stress. This study aims to investigate the effects of different forms (nano and chelated) of iron (Fe), zinc (Zn), and manganese (Mn) foliar application, as well as their combinations, on the growth, yield, and water productivity of faba bean plants under different soil moisture levels (100, 80, and 60% of field capacity, FC). The results indicated the best readings of traits studied in the faba bean plant were observed under soil moisture at 100% of FC (control) compared to 60% of FC. On the other hand, results showed that the combined foliar application (FA) of FeZnMn-nanofertilizers (FeZnMn-NFs) to faba bean plants yielded the most favorable growth characteristics and chlorophyll content compared to the untreated plants (control). Also, the FA of FeZnMn-NFs treatment resulted in the highest seed yield and macronutrient (NPK) content in both straw and seed. The seed yield under FeZnMn-NFs treatment (21.24 g pot–1) was significantly more significant than the control (15.47 g pot–1). Regarding water use efficiency (WUE), the FeZnMn-NFs treatment achieved the highest WUE for the faba bean (2.44 kg m−3) compared to the control (1.60 kg m−3). Conversely, the amount of irrigation water applied (IWA) was lowest with the FeZnMn-NFs treatment (8.72 L pot−1) compared to the control (9.64 L pot−1). Concerning the interaction between irrigation levels and foliar spray treatments of faba bean plants, there were no significant differences in seed yield between the 100% irrigation level and the 80% level when foliar application of FeZnMn-NFs. Additionally, nano-fertilizers (NFs) demonstrate greater effectiveness than chelated fertilizers (EDTA), significantly enhancing yield and macronutrient content. Thus, the results highlight the crucial role of NFs in mitigating damage from drought stress, improving growth characteristics, and saving 20% of the amount of IWA for faba bean plants, allowing it to be used elsewhere in agriculture. Consequently, these findings suggest that using NFs of Fe, Zn, and Mn as foliar applications (FA) could be a promising approach to boost the growth parameters, seed yield, and WUE of faba bean plants in arid and semi-arid regions. | ||||
| Keywords | ||||
| Water deficit; Micronutrients; Nano-fertilizers; Nanotechnology; Water use efficiency; and Vicia faba | ||||
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