The Role of Nano-Silica in Reducing the Negative Impact of Different Shocks on Cucumber Plant Growth

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Faculty of Agriculture and Food Science, King Faisal University, Saudi Arabia.

2 Soil fertility and plant nutrition Department- Soil Water and Environment Institute - Agricultural Research Center - Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation

3 Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture

Abstract

The current research aims to determine whether salinity in irrigation water, frost, drought, and heat damage to cucumbers may be reduced or avoided by using manufactured nano-silica (NaSiPs) particles.  After soaking the seeds for 3 hours in a nano-silica suspension, seedlings with a length of 15 cm in the greenhouse were ‎sprayed with various NaSiPs ‎concentrations (0, 100, ‎‎200, and 400 ‎mg L-1). When the plant reached 30 ‎cm in length, the various shock treatments were applied. ‎ At harvest,  some vegetative parameters were determined as well as chemical analysis of plants (root, leaves , and fruits). The results confirmed that NaSiPs were effective in reducing the negative effects of ‎ various shocks ‎on ‎plant ‎biometrics, chlorophyll, and fruit yield. The findings revealed that there were no significant ‎effects ‎of the ‎two-way interaction between shock treatments and nano-silica rates on the plant ‎biometrics, chlorophyll, ‎and fruit ‎yield. The concentrations of sodium and potassium ‎in roots, leaves, and fruits, as well as ‎ silicon and proline in roots and leaves, were found to have the same effects. Except for Na and ‎K in ‎fruits and leaves, all parameters studied increased with increasing nano-silica rates, ‎ with the exception of fruit sodium and leaf potassium concentration. The shocks had the following order: ‎control > salinity > frost ‎‎> ‎dryness > ‎heat.‎ SiNP400 treatment of plants reduced the negative effects of ‎various ‎shocks‎. ‎

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