Response Of Wheat To Various Treatments Of Nanoparticles Under Moisture Stress

Abstract

 The study titled "Physio-biochemical response of wheat to different nanoparticle treatments under moisture stress (drought) conditions" was carried out during the Rabi season of 2022-23 and 2023-24 at the student instructional farm (SIF) of Acharya Narendra Deva University of Agriculture and Technology, located in Kumarganj, Ayodhya- 224229 (U.P.). The experiment was carried out using a randomized block design, with three replications and ten treatments, using the wheat variety HD 2967. The treatments consisted of the following: T1: control (foliar spray of distilled water), T2: Ca₃PO₄ (40ppm), T3: TiO₂ (40ppm), T4: TiO₂ (40ppm) + Ca₃PO₄ (40ppm), T5: TiO₂ (50ppm). T6: TiO₂ (50ppm) + Ca₃PO₄ (40ppm), T7: ZnO (40ppm), T8: ZnO (40ppm) + Ca₃PO₄ (40ppm), T9: ZnO (50ppm), T10: ZnO (50ppm) + Ca₃PO₄ (40ppm). The application of foliar spray occurred 45 days after sowing (DAS). The physio-biochemical parameters were measured at 60, 75, and 90 days after sowing (DAS), whereas the yield data was recorded at harvest time. The application of foliar spray containing both ZnO and TiO₂ nanoparticles, as well as Ca₃PO₄, was found to be highly successful in reducing moisture stress compared to the control group. The addition of Nano ZnO at a concentration of 50ppm, combined with Ca₃PO₄ at a concentration of 40ppm (T10), was shown to be the most efficient in increasing both the total chlorophyll content and total soluble sugar content under conditions of moisture stress. This treatment was followed by treatment T9. However, when considering additional characteristics such as membrane stability index (MSI), relative water content (RWC), grain yield, and biological yield, treatment T9 showed significantly greater values than the control treatment for the crop. Treatment T4 also showed higher values, although to a lesser extent. The current study concludes that nanoparticles effectively reduce moisture stress in wheat. Specifically, ZnO (50ppm) followed by TiO₂ (40ppm) in combination with Ca3PO4 (40ppm) are recommended treatments to alleviate the negative impacts of moisture stress on wheat crops.