The Role of Nanosilica in Ameliorating the Deleterious Effect of Salinity Shock on Cucumber Growth

(Abdullah H. Al Saeedi and Sadeq J. Alameer)

---

Abstract

A greenhouse experiment was conducted ‎to study the influence of the application of four concentrations of silica nanoparticles (NSi) in mitigating the negative effect of salinity shock on ‎cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.). Seedlings were sprayed with NSi ‎ (0, 100, 200, and 300 ppm) as the NSi treatment, and the plants were subjected to either no salinity shock (NSCh) or salinity shock (WSCh) 3250 ppm for two days. Yield and vegetative parameters, K+, Na+, K/Na ratio, Si, and proline contents were measured. The NSi treatments prevented the harmful effects of salinity on yield, with a reduction of 9.19% for plants treated with NSi3 under WSCh compared with NSCh. Salinity shock caused an accumulation of proline in the roots and other plant parts as a method of protection. The NSi2 and NSi3 treatments under WSCh prevented the accumulation of Na+, leading to an increase in the K/Na ratio. The Si contents in the roots, leaves, and fruits increased with increased NSi. The results of the interaction treatments showed a significant ‎effect on all ‎traits except for plant length, leaf area, chlorophyll, and ‎root ‎potassium content. 
PDF

References

Akbarimoghaddam, H., Galavi, M., Ghanbari A. and Panjehkeh, N. (2011). Salinity effects ‎on seed germination ‎and seedling growth of bread wheat cultivars. Trakia J. Sci., 9(1), ‎‎43–50.‎
Ali, S., Charles, T.C. and Glick, B.R. (2014). Amelioration of high salinity stress damage by ‎plant growth-promoting bacterial endophytes that contain ACC deaminase. Plant ‎Physiology and Biochemistry, 80(n/a), 160–7. ‎
Alsaeedi, A., El-Ramady, A., Alshaal, T., El-Garawani, M. Elhawat, N. and Al-Otaibie, A. (‎‎2018). Exogenous nanosilica improves germination and growth of cucumber by ‎maintaining K+/Na+ ratio under elevated Na+ stress. Plant Physiol. Biochem., 139(n/a), 1–10.
Alsaeedi, A., El-Ramady, A., Alshaal, T., El-Garawani, M. Elhawat, N. and Al-Otaibie, A. (‎‎2019). ‎ Silica nanoparticles boost growth and productivity of cucumber under water ‎deficit and salinity stresses by balancing nutrients uptake. Plant Physiol. Biochem., 125(n/a), ‎‎164–71.‎
AlSaeedi, A., El-Ramady, A., Alshaal, T., El-Garawani, M., Elhawat, N. and Almohsen‎, ‎M. (‎‎2017).‎ Engineered silica nanoparticles alleviate the detrimental effects of Na+ stress on germination and growth of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris). Environ Sci. Pollut., 24(n/a), 21917–28
Arif, Y., Singh, P., Siddiqui, H., Bajguz, A. and Hayat, S. (2020). Salinity induced physiological and biochemical changes in plants: An omic approach towards salt stress tolerance. Plant Physiology and Biochemistry, 156(n/a), 64–77.  
Bates, L.S., Waldren, R.P. and Teare, I.D. (1973). Rapid determination of free proline for water-stress studies. Plant Soil, 39(n/a), 205–7.
Chaerle, L., Saibo, N. and Van Der Straeten, D. (2005). Tuning the pores: towards engineering ‎plants for improved water use efficiency. Trends in Biotechnology, 23(n/a), 308–15. 
Chinnusamy, V., Zhu, J. and Zhu, J.K. (2006). Generegulation during cold acculimation in ‎plants. Physiologia ‎Plantarum, 126(1), 52–61. DOI:10.1111/j.1399-‎‎3054.2006.00596.x‎
Chun, S.C., Paramasivan, M. and Chandrasekaran, M. (2018). Proline accumulation influenced by osmotic stress in arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiotic plants. Front Microbiol., 9(n/a), 2525. DOI:10.3389/fmicb.2018.02525
Çiçek, N., Oukarroum, A., Strasser, R.J. and Schansker, G. (2018). Salt stress effects on the ‎photosynthetic electron transport chain in two chickpea lines differing in their salt stress ‎tolerance. Photosynth Res., 136(3), 291–301.   DOI:10.1007/s11120-017-0463-y.
Cottenie, A. (1980). Soil and Plant Testing as a Basis of Fertilizer Recommendations: ‎Fao Soil Bulletin 38/2. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.‎
dos Santos, T.B., Ferreira, A.R., de Souza, S.G., Budzinski, I.G.F. and Douglas, D.S. (2022). Physiological Responses to Drought, Salinity, and Heat Stress in Plants: A Review. Stresses, 2(1), 113–5. DOI:10.3390/stresses2010009
Estefan, G., Sommer, R. and Ryan, J. (2013). Methods of Soil, Plant, and Water Analysis: A Manual for the West Asia and North Africa Region. 3rd edition. Beirut: International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA).     
FAO. (2002). Report: Deficit Irrigation Practices. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization.
Frantz, J.M, Locke, J.C, Datnoff, L., Omer, M., Widrig, A., Sturtz, D., Horst, L. and Krause, C.R. ‎‎(2008). Detection, distribution, and quantification of silicon in floricultural crops ‎utilizing three distinct analytical methods. Commun Soil Sci Plant Anal, 39(n/a), 2734–51‎
Głazowska, S., Baldwin, L., Mravec, J. Bukh, C., Hansen, T.H., Jensen, M.M., Fangel, J.U., Willats, W.G.T., Glasius, M., Felby, C. and Schjoerring, J.K. (2018). The impact of silicon on cell wall composition and enzymatic saccharification of Brachypodium distachyon. Biotechnology for Biofuels, 11(n/a), 171.
Hameed, A., Zaheer, M.A, Hussain, T., Aziz, I., Ahmad, N., Gul, B. and Nielsen, B.L. (2021). Effects of Salinity Stress on Chloroplast Structure and Function. Cells, 10(8), 2023. DOI:10.3390/cells10082023
Heidari, A., Toorchi, M., Bandehagh, A. and Shakiba, M.R. (2011). Effect of NaCl stress on ‎growth, water relations, organic and inorganic osmolytes accumulation in sunflower ‎‎(Helianthus annuus L.) lines. Universal Journal of Environmental Research and ‎Technology, 1(3), 351–62.‎
Hosseinifard, M., Stefaniak, S., Javid, M.G., Soltani, E., Wojtyla, Ł. and ‎Garnczarska, M. (2022). Contribution of Exogenous Proline to Abiotic Stresses Tolerance in ‎Plants. Int. J. Mol. Sci., 23(9), 5186. DOI:10.3390 ‎‎/ijms23095186‎
‎Ministry of Environment. (2021). Statistical Book. Riyadh: General Administration of Information ‎and Statistics. ‎
‎Netondo, G.W., Onyango, J.C. and Beck, E. (2004). Sorghum and Salinity. Crop Science, 44(3), ‎‎ 806–11. DOI: 10.2135/cropsci2004.8060‎
Ran, X., Wang, X., Huang, X., Ma, C., Liang, H. and Liu, B. (2022). Study on the Relationship of Ions (Na, K, Ca) Absorption and Distribution to Photosynthetic Response of Salix matsudana Koidz Under Salt Stress. Front. Plant Sci., 13(n/a), 860111. DOI:10.3389/fpls.2022.860111
Ransy, C., Vaz, C., Lombès, A. and Bouillaud, F. (2020). Use of H2O2 to Cause Oxidative Stress, the Catalase Issue. Int. J. Mol. Sci., 21(23), 9149. Doi:10.3390/ijms21239149
Sayed, E.G., Mahmoud, A.W.M., El-Mogy, M.M., Ali, M.A.A., Fahmy, M.A.M. and Tawfic, G.A. (2022). The effective role of nano-silicon application in improving the productivity and quality of grafted tomato grown under salinity stress. Horticulturae, 8(4), 293. DOI: 10.3390/ horticulturae8040293
Shahbaz, M. and Ashraf, M. (2013). Improving salinity tolerance in cereals. Critical ‎Reviews in Plant Sciences, 32(4), 237–49. ‎
Shoman, H.A. and Bughdady, A.M.M. (2020). Effect of Silicon Foliar Application and Sowing Dates on Faba Bean (Vicia faba L.) Productivity under New Valley Conditions–Egypt. Journal of Plant Production, 11(12), 1393–7. DOI:10.21608/jpp.2020.149811
Singh, M., Kumar, J., Singh, V.P. and Prasad, S.M. (2014). Plant tolerance mechanism against salt ‎stress: The nutrient management approach. Biochem Pharmacol., 3(5), 165.
‎
Snedecor, G.W. and Cochran, W.G. (‎1974). Statistical Methods. 6th edition. Ames: Iowa State ‎University Press.‎
Toresano‎, F., Díaz, M., Pérez, L. and Camacho, F. (2012). Effect of the application of ‎monosilicic acid ‎fertilizer on yield and quality of greenhouse triploid watermelon. Acta ‎Horticulturae, 927(n/a),‎‎ 373–7. DOI:10.17660/ActaHortic.2012.927.45‎. 
‎Yao, Y., Sun, Y., Feng, Q., Zhang, X., Gao. Y., Ou, Y., Yang, F., Xie, W., Resco. V., Ma, J. and Yousefi, M. (2021). Acclimation to nitrogen × salt stress in Populus bolleana mediated by potassium/sodium balance. Industrial Crops and Products, 170(n/a), 113789. DOI: 10.1016/j.indcrop.2021.113789
Zhao, C., Zhang, H., Song, C., Zhu, J. and Shabala, S. (2020). Mechanisms of plant responses and adaptation to soil salinity. The Innovation, 1(1), 100017. DOI: 10.1016/j.xinn.2020.100017.