Shakil Ahmed, Sana Ashraf, Nasim Ahmad Yasin, Rehana Sardar, Ibrahim Al-Ashkar, Magdi T Abdelhamid, Ayman El Sabagh
{"title":"Exogenously applied nano-zinc oxide mitigates cadmium stress in <i>Zea mays</i> L. through modulation of physiochemical activities and nutrients homeostasis.","authors":"Shakil Ahmed, Sana Ashraf, Nasim Ahmad Yasin, Rehana Sardar, Ibrahim Al-Ashkar, Magdi T Abdelhamid, Ayman El Sabagh","doi":"10.1080/15226514.2024.2383657","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The increasing levels of cadmium (Cd) pollution in agricultural soil reduces plant growth and yield. This study aims to determine the impact of green synthesized zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs) on the physiochemical activities, nutrition, growth, and yield of <i>Zea mays</i> L. under Cd stress conditions. For this purpose, ZnO-NPs (450 ppm and 600 ppm) synthesized from <i>Syzygium aromaticum</i> were applied through foliar spray to <i>Z. mays</i> and also used as seed priming agents. A significant decline in plant height (35.24%), biomass production (43.86%), mineral content, gas exchange attributes, and yield (37.62%) was observed in Cd-spiked plants compared to the control. While, 450 ppm ZnO-NPs primed seed increased plant height (18.46%), total chlorophyll (80.07%), improved ascorbic acid (25.10%), DPPH activity (26.66%), and soil mineral uptake (Mg<sup>+2</sup> (38.86%), K<sup>+</sup> (27.83%), and Zn<sup>+2</sup> (43.68%) as compared to plants only spiked with Cd. On the contrary, the foliar-applied 450 ppm ZnO-NPs increased plant height (8.22%), total chlorophyll content (73.59%), ascorbic acid (21.39%), and DPPH activity (17.61%) and yield parameters; cob diameter (19.45%), and kernels numbers 6.35% enhanced compared to plants that were spiked only with Cd. The findings of the current study pave the way for safer and more cost-effective crop production in Cd-stressed soils by using green synthesized NPs and provide deep insights into the underlying mechanisms of NPs treatment at the molecular level to provide compelling evidence for the use of NPs in improving plant growth and yield.</p>","PeriodicalId":14235,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Phytoremediation","volume":" ","pages":"2250-2265"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4000,"publicationDate":"2024-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"International Journal of Phytoremediation","FirstCategoryId":"93","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1080/15226514.2024.2383657","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2024/7/27 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
The increasing levels of cadmium (Cd) pollution in agricultural soil reduces plant growth and yield. This study aims to determine the impact of green synthesized zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs) on the physiochemical activities, nutrition, growth, and yield of Zea mays L. under Cd stress conditions. For this purpose, ZnO-NPs (450 ppm and 600 ppm) synthesized from Syzygium aromaticum were applied through foliar spray to Z. mays and also used as seed priming agents. A significant decline in plant height (35.24%), biomass production (43.86%), mineral content, gas exchange attributes, and yield (37.62%) was observed in Cd-spiked plants compared to the control. While, 450 ppm ZnO-NPs primed seed increased plant height (18.46%), total chlorophyll (80.07%), improved ascorbic acid (25.10%), DPPH activity (26.66%), and soil mineral uptake (Mg+2 (38.86%), K+ (27.83%), and Zn+2 (43.68%) as compared to plants only spiked with Cd. On the contrary, the foliar-applied 450 ppm ZnO-NPs increased plant height (8.22%), total chlorophyll content (73.59%), ascorbic acid (21.39%), and DPPH activity (17.61%) and yield parameters; cob diameter (19.45%), and kernels numbers 6.35% enhanced compared to plants that were spiked only with Cd. The findings of the current study pave the way for safer and more cost-effective crop production in Cd-stressed soils by using green synthesized NPs and provide deep insights into the underlying mechanisms of NPs treatment at the molecular level to provide compelling evidence for the use of NPs in improving plant growth and yield.
期刊介绍:
The International Journal of Phytoremediation (IJP) is the first journal devoted to the publication of laboratory and field research describing the use of plant systems to solve environmental problems by enabling the remediation of soil, water, and air quality and by restoring ecosystem services in managed landscapes. Traditional phytoremediation has largely focused on soil and groundwater clean-up of hazardous contaminants. Phytotechnology expands this umbrella to include many of the natural resource management challenges we face in cities, on farms, and other landscapes more integrated with daily public activities. Wetlands that treat wastewater, rain gardens that treat stormwater, poplar tree plantings that contain pollutants, urban tree canopies that treat air pollution, and specialized plants that treat decommissioned mine sites are just a few examples of phytotechnologies.