Zinc Nanoparticles (ZnNPs): High-Fidelity Amelioration in Turnip ( Brassica rapa L.) Production under Drought Stress

Jia Li, Sara Zafar (), Ayesha Javaid, Shagufta Perveen, Zuhair Hasnain, Muhammad Ihtisham, Adeel Abbas, Muhammad Usman, Ahmed H. El-Sappah and Manzar Abbas ()
Additional contact information
Jia Li: School of Agriculture, Forestry and Food Engineering, Yibin University, Yibin 644000, China
Sara Zafar: Botany Department, Government College University, Faisalabad 38000, Punjab, Pakistan
Ayesha Javaid: Botany Department, Government College University, Faisalabad 38000, Punjab, Pakistan
Shagufta Perveen: Botany Department, Government College University, Faisalabad 38000, Punjab, Pakistan
Zuhair Hasnain: Department of Agronomy, PMAS Arid Agriculture University, Attock Campus, Attock 43600, Punjab, Pakistan
Muhammad Ihtisham: School of Agriculture, Forestry and Food Engineering, Yibin University, Yibin 644000, China
Adeel Abbas: Institute of Environment and Ecology, School of Environment and Safety Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China
Muhammad Usman: Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology, Faculty of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, MNS University of Agriculture, Multan 66000, Punjab, Pakistan
Ahmed H. El-Sappah: School of Agriculture, Forestry and Food Engineering, Yibin University, Yibin 644000, China
Manzar Abbas: School of Agriculture, Forestry and Food Engineering, Yibin University, Yibin 644000, China

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 8, 1-16

Abstract: The detrimental effects of drought have adverse impacts on the crop yield as global climatic changes put unusual pressure on water resources. The challenge of attaining water security is key for the sustainable development of crops. Zinc (Zn 2+ ) is an important nutrient that helps to alleviate drought stress by modulating the growth and yield of crops. Recently, zinc nanoparticles (ZnNPs) have been used as a novel strategy for the fertilization of crops. This study was specifically developed to observe the comparative effects of ZnNPs and conventional zinc sulfate (ZnSO 4 ) at diverse concentration levels (0.01%, 0.05%, and 0.1%) that could effectively decrease the injurious effect of drought stress on turnip plants. In experiments on the golden turnip variety, drought stress caused a significant reduction in all growth and biochemical attributes, and increased antioxidant enzymatic activity. In a comparison with the conventional fertilizer ZnSO 4 , the foliar application of 0.1% ZnNPs significantly improved plant height, biomass, root/turnip length, turnip diameter, antioxidant defense system, secondary metabolites, and photosynthetic pigments in the leaves under drought stress. Based on the collected results, it is suggested that the foliar application of ZnNPs, instead of ZnSO 4, under drought stress is helpful in increasing the growth and yield of turnip plants.

Keywords: drought stress; turnip; enzymatic antioxidants; zinc nanoparticles; zinc sulfate (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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