Effectiveness of Silica Nanoparticles Application in Mitigating Salinity Stress During Germination, Seedling and Vegetative Stages of Glycine max (L.) Merrill
摘要
Silica nanoparticles (SiNPs) have been reported to alleviate the negative impacts of different environmental stresses. However, studies concerning the mitigation of salinity stress in soybeans are limited. Keeping this in consideration, the present study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of SiNPs in ameliorating the impact of salinity stress in Glycine max (soybean). In this regard, 0, 1, 5, and 10 g/L of SiNPs were used in tandem with NaCl concentrations of 0, 100, 200, and 300 mM. The results indicated that all applied concentrations of SiNPs under salinity improved seed germination attributes, along with growth, photosynthesis, ionic and osmotic balance, membrane integrity, and managed oxidative stress in both seedling and vegetative stages. Amongst all the concentrations, 10 g/L SiNPs showed the best results. The positive results of SiNPs could be correlated to the better availability of Si in the roots, which improved the uptake and translocation of Si in plants, ultimately reducing Na+ and improving K+ accumulation. 10 g/L SiNPs improved Si accumulation by 1.62 and 1.55 folds; reduced Na+ accumulation by 3.53 and 8.26 folds; and improved K+ accumulation by 1.55 and 1.59 folds, respectively, in soybean seedlings and vegetative plants under 300 mM NaCl stress. Therefore, it can be concluded that the SiNPs have great potential to be developed as a fertilizer to improve plant health even in the presence of salinity stress. However, further studies need to be conducted to address the efficacy of SiNPs-based nanofertilizers for field applications, their optimal dosage, and environmental safety concerns.