article · Plants
Soil salinity poses a major challenge to rice production, particularly across arid and semi-arid territories. This research examined how treatments using silicon and selenium nanoparticles influence the growth, root traits, ion selectivity, and yield of two rice cultivars, the salt-sensitive Giza 177 and salt-tolerant Giza 178, grown in saline soil over two seasons. Both seed soaking and foliar applications were evaluated. Soaking with nano-selenium produced the greatest root thickness and volume in both cultivars. Furthermore, soaking with nano-selenium or nano-silicon, alongside foliar nano-selenium application, yielded the highest relative water content and dry matter, whilst foliar nano-silicon delivered the greatest leaf area index. Treatments with these nano-nutrients alleviated salinity damage in the sensitive cultivar by improving ion selectivity and reducing sodium accumulation. Consequently, soaking with nano-selenium and foliar nano-silicon achieved the highest grain yields across both seasons.
Saline soils severely restrict crop yields in arid and semi-arid agricultural regions, threatening global food security. Identifying accessible treatments that enable staple crops like rice to thrive in salty ground is vital. Demonstrating that silicon and selenium nanoparticles boost plant physiological defences and sustain grain yields offers a practical route to maintaining cereal production on salt-degraded land.
This applied and tested research indicates that nano-silicon and nano-selenium formulations, delivered via seed soaking or foliar spraying, could interest agricultural input manufacturers targeting saline environments. Rice farmers cultivating salt-affected soils are the ultimate users. While tested over two seasons with measured harvest yields, indicating an applied stage of development, the abstract provides no information regarding industrial formulation, production costs, or regulatory approval pathways.
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Rice production under salinity stress is a critical challenge facing many countries, particularly those in arid and semi-arid regions. This challenge could be handled by applying novel approaches to overcome yield limiting factors and improve resource use efficiency. The usage of nanoparticles (NPs) could be a beneficial approach to managing the growing problem of soil salinity. The aim of our study was to investigate the advantageous effects of soaking and foliar application of silicon (Si) and selenium (Se), (NPs-Si at 12.5 mg L<sup>-1</sup> and NPs-Se at 6.25 mg L<sup>-1</sup>) on root characteristics, moropho-physiological traits, and yields of two rice varieties (i.e., Giza 177 as a salt sensitive and Giza 178 as a salt tolerant) grown in saline soil compared to untreated plants (control treatment). Results showed that soaking NPs-Se resulted in the highest value of root thickness for Giza 178 (0.90 mm, 0.95 mm) and root volume (153.30 cm<sup>3</sup>, 154.30 cm<sup>3</sup>), while Giza 177 recorded 0.83 mm, 0.81 mm for root thickness and 143.30 cm<sup>3</sup>, 141.30 cm<sup>3</sup> for root volume in the 2018 and 2019 seasons, respectively. Soaking NPs-Se, NPs-Si and foliar application of NPs-Se at BT resulted in the highest relative water content and dry matter, while foliar application of NPs-Si at BT gave the highest leaf area index of rice plants compared to the other treatments. Giza 178 (i.e., salt tolerant variety) significantly surpassed Giza 177 (i.e., salt sensitive variety) in the main yield components such as panicle number and filled grains/ panicle, while Giza 177 significantly exceeded Giza 178 in the panicle weight, 1000-grain weight, and unfilled grains number/ panicle. Soaking NPs-Se and foliar application of NPs-Si at BT resulted in the highest grain yield of 5.41 and 5.34 t ha<sup>-1</sup> during 2018 and 5.00 and 4.91 t ha<sup>-1</sup> during 2019, respectively. The salt sensitive variety (Giza 177) had the highest Na<sup>+</sup> leaf content and Na<sup>+</sup>/K<sup>+</sup> ratio as well as the lowest K+ leaf content during both seasons. Applying nano nutrients such as NPs-Si and NPs-Se improved the yield components of the salt sensitive variety (Giza 177) by enhancing its ion selectivity. Both NPs-Si and NPs-Se had almost the same mode of action to mitigate the harmful salinity and enhance plant growth, and subsequently improved the grain yield. In summary, the application of NPs-Si and NPs-Se is recommended as a result of their positive influence on rice growth and yield as well as minimizing the negative effects of salt stress.
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DOI: 10.3390/plants10081657
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