Seed nanopriming by silicon oxide improves drought stress alleviation potential in wheat plants

The present study explored the effectiveness of SiO2 nanoparticles (NPs) as seed priming agent (15 mg L-1) to improve drought tolerance in the wheat cultivar HI 1544. Seed germination studies showed significant enhancement in the rate of seed germination, seedling growth and vigour, seed water uptake, and amylase activity in nanoprimed (NP) seeds compared with unprimed (UP) seeds. Pot experiments using wheat plants subjected to drought stress showed that SiO2 nanopriming enhanced the ability of wheat plants to withstand water deficit conditions by balancing the production of reactive oxygen species and the activity of enzymatic antioxidants like peroxidase, catalase, and superoxide dismutase. Investigations of photosynthetic parameters showed that under drought conditions, nanoprimed plants had a higher number of active reaction centres, high absorbance, trapping, and electron transport rates compared with unprimed plants. These results suggest the effects of silicon nanopriming in enhancing drought tolerance in wheat by alleviating drought induced inhibition of plant photosynthetic machinery and maintaining biochemical balance, ultimately resulting in an increase in biomass production. Results revealed the use of silicon oxide nanopriming to be a good option to increase drought tolerance in wheat plants.