Effect of nanoparticles on Wheat to combat drought and Salinity Stress: Review

Abstract

A significant obstacle to maintaining global crop productivity and food security is drought stress (DS). With the current rapid climate change and intensifying drought, nanoparticles (NPs) have become a fantastic instrument to increase crop productivity. DS interferes with cellular membranes, nutrient and water uptake, the photosynthetic system, and antioxidant activities, which have a negative impact on plant development and physiological and metabolic processes. When NPs are applied, the membranes are protected, the water relationship is maintained, and the nutrient and water intake is improved, which significantly increases plant development under DS. NPs shield the photosynthetic machinery and enhance photosynthetic efficiency, osmolyte, hormone, and phenolic accumulation, antioxidant activities, and gene expression, giving plants more tolerance to DS. Due to the ability to be applied by both seed soaking and seedling foliar application at various growth stages of the plant, chemical treatment is one of the encouraging methods to improve the drought tolerance of wheat. In this study, the effects of different chemical treatments on wheat physiology and drought production were assessed. Continuous climate change has a negative impact on crop productivity, especially wheat farming. It has been determined that chemical treatment can stabilise the effects of drought on wheat by enhancing the activity of hormones and enzymes that are responsive to drought, as well as by increasing the production of stress proteins and antioxidant enzymes to prevent the generation of reactive oxygen species. In order to maintain wheat's typical physiology in response to changing climates, drought resistance has been improved by the application of various chemicals with pre- and post-emergence treatment. For a successful treatment strategy, it is also important to explore potential priming chemicals and assess molecules with various development phases, chemical combinations, and treatment modalities.