Improvement of physio-biochemical attributes and mitigation of salinity stress by combined application of melatonin and silicon nanoparticles in Brassica oleracea var. botrytis
Tauseef Anwar, Huma Qureshi, Hina Fatimah, Ejaz Hussain Siddiqi, Sadaf Anwaar, Ihab Mohamed Moussa, Muhammad Faheem Adil
Abstract
Salinity is a significant abiotic stress in arid and semiarid areas, threatening global food security. This research explored the potential of silicon nanoparticles (Si-NPs) and Melatonin (MT) to alleviate salinity stress in Brassica oleracea var. botrytis . The study used varying Si-NPs concentrations viz. NP0 (distilled water), NP1 (50 mg/L), NP2 (100 mg/L), and NP3 (200 mg/L) and Melatonin following a completely randomized design (CRD). Salinity hindered the growth and phytochemical attributes of B. oleracea seedlings. However, applying Si-NPs and MT mitigated this stress. Maximum fresh root weight of seedlings was observed when seeds were primed with 80 mg/L Si-NPs under 200 mM salt concentration, and the highest root length was noted with 60 mg/L and 80 mg/L Si-NPs. Seeds primed with 40 and 80 mg/L Si-NPs displayed the highest leaf count in seedlings under 50- and 100-mM salt concentrations, respectively. At 200 mM salt concentration, 40 mg/L and 60 mg/L Si-NPs priming notably enhanced total chlorophyll contents. Relative chlorophyll contents significantly increased with Si-NPs priming of 40 mg/L, 60 mg/L, and 80 mg/L under varying salt solutions along with melatonin . Exposure to 200 mM Si-NPs led to enhanced superoxide dismutase production in plants compared to control. Si-NPs and MT supplementation notably elevated osmolyte levels in salt-stressed B. oleracea seedlings compared to other treatments. Hence, treatment of Si-NPs and MT might be effective against abiotic stress in B. oleracea . This study offers valuable insights for cultivating economically important crops in high salt-stressed agricultural lands.