Exogenous application of silicon nanoparticles alleviates salt stress on wheat plants by improving photosynthetic efficiency and boosting antioxidant enzyme activity. | ||||
| Damietta Journal of Agricultural Sciences | ||||
| Volume 4, Issue 2, July 2025, Page 102-115 PDF (1.31 MB) | ||||
| Document Type: Original research papers | ||||
| DOI: 10.21608/djas.2025.429285 | ||||
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| Authors | ||||
Ahmed Lotfy Wanas 1; Khaled Aboelmaaty2, 3; Menna Asad El-qoundakly  1
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| 1Agricultural Botany Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Damietta University, Egypt | ||||
| 2Agricultural Biotechnology Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Damietta University, Egypt | ||||
| 3The Center for Excellence in Research of Advanced Agricultural Sciences (CERAAS), Faculty of Agriculture, Damietta University, Damietta, Egypt | ||||
| Abstract | ||||
| A preliminary trial was initially conducted to identify the threshold among a series of NaCl levels beyond which germination declines below 50%, taking it as the highest salinity level tolerated by wheat plants to utilize it in the main experiments, which was established to be 7000 µg ml⁻¹. Two pot experiments were undertaken during two successive winter seasons of 2020/21 and 2021/22 to evaluate the adverse effects of 7000 µg ml⁻¹ NaCl on wheat growth and physiological parameters, as well as the effectiveness of silicon dioxide nanoparticles (SiO₂-NPs) at 6000 and 8000 µg ml⁻¹ to mitigate these effects. Results indicated that 7000 µg ml⁻¹ NaCl negatively impacted wheat growth, leading to reductions in root system size, plant height, leaf and tiller counts, total leaf area, and fresh and dry weights of both roots and shoots, as well as photosynthetic pigment levels. Conversely, leaf area ratio (LAR), root/shoot ratio, and the activity of peroxidase, in addition to proline were all significantly increased. However, SiO₂-NPs at concentrations of 6000 and 8000 µg ml⁻¹ via the combined application as grain soaking and then foliar sprays effectively enhanced the plants’ stress tolerance as evidenced by improved growth parameters, higher photosynthetic pigment concentrations, and increased antioxidant enzymes and proline. Notably, 6000 µg ml⁻¹ of SiO₂-NPs proved more effective, offering significant improvements even compared to the unstressed control plants. Therefore, this study recommends the use of 6000 µg ml⁻¹ of SiO₂-NPs as a safe and effective inorganic bio-fortifier to combat salt stress conditions in wheat plants. | ||||
| Keywords | ||||
| Salinity; Growth; Peroxidase; NPs; Proline | ||||
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