Influence of Selenium, Titanium, and Silicon Nanoparticles on the Growth, Yield, and Fruit Quality of Mango under Drought Conditions

Abstract

Weather fluctuations significantly affect the growth and production of orchard crops such as mango, leading to a substantial decrease in tree growth, flowering rate, yield, and fruit quality. One of these weather factors is drought, which negatively influences multiple physiological processes in plants. It increases the transpiration rate and decreases the cell turgidity, stomatal regulation, osmoregulation, water utilization efficiency, and the development of the deep root system; consequently, it decreases the final production and fruit quality. Therefore, the present study was performed in the 2022–2023 seasons to study the role of the spraying of Selenium (Se), Titanium (Ti), and Silicon (Si) nanoparticles on the growth parameters, yielding, fruit physical and chemical characteristics, and leaf mineral composition of mango cv. Keitt. Mango trees were sprayed during the vegetative season 2022–2023 three times, starting in April with three weeks intervals, by 5, 10, and 20 mg/L Se; 40, 60, and 80 mg/L Ti; and 50, 100, and 150 mg/L Si. The results showed that the extern spray of nanoparticles from these micronutrients improved the growth attributes, yielding and fruit quality of mango trees by reducing the effect of undesirable stressful conditions. The results also indicated that the extern implementation of 150 mg/L Si, 60 mg/L Ti and 20 mg/L Se gave the best increments in the shoot number, length, thickness, leaf area, and leaf chlorophyll contrasted to the else sprayed treatments. Besides, they also improved the fruit set percentages, fruit yields, fruit physical and chemical characteristics and nutritional status of mango trees in both tested seasons.