Zinc oxide nanoparticles: A unique saline stress mitigator with the potential to increase future crop production

Globally, soil salinity is an abiotic stress that can threaten arable lands and crop production and consequently can negatively affect food security. Therefore, the aim of this review was to study the utilizing zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs) as a novel approach to mitigate salinity stress and its negative impacts on environment and crop productivity. The application of ZnO-NPs can significantly enhance plant growth, physiological and metabolic activity, and yield as well as crop quality. The antioxidant enzymes activities such as superoxide dismutase (SOD), ascorbate peroxidase (APX), and glutathione reductase (GR) are increased when ZnO-NPs are applied which can mitigate the damage caused by ROS species and make them a valuable tool for future agriculture. The sucrose synthesis which ultimately biosynthesizes lipopolysaccharides (LP), glycinebetaine (GB), and total soluble protein (TSP), and enhanced ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase-oxygenase activity, light-capturing efficiency of photosystem II, as well as the ability to transport electrons under salinity stress are increased by the application of ZnO-NPs. Therefore, ZnO-NPs can be used as a potential strategy for promoting precision agriculture. The existing yield gap under a saline environment can be minimized by promoting the application of ZnO-NPs as it serves as a cheap, environment-friendly, and efficient source of Zn. In a nutshell, being an efficient and eco-friendly nanomaterial ZnO-NPs play a key role in mitigating saline stress by alleviating NaCl toxicity and enhancing crop productivity in saline soils.