Nanoparticles Impact on the Morphogenetics of Cicer arietinum L.

Abstract

Drought stress is one of the major abiotic stresses, which seriously affects crop growth and yield. Therefore, the main attention of plant geneticists, physiologists and agronomists is always focused on obtaining drought-resistant varieties. The application of modern technologies, including nanotechnology, in this area, can be an achievement. In the presented work, the effect of some metal-based nanoparticles on the biomorphological parameters of chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) plants grown in the field under normal irrigation and artificial drought conditions was studied. Outcomes of our experiments indicated that drought causes a remarkable reduction in plant height, leaf area, number of branches, number of pods, pod length and width, the number and mass of grains taken from five chickpea plants, the mass of 100 grains (g), the mass of bundle (g), yield index and the protein and fat contents. Biomorphological parameters were observed to be both decreased and stimulated depending on the type of nanoparticles under irrigated conditions in plants obtained from nanoparticle-coated chickpea seeds. In drought conditions, nanoparticles slightly improved the biomorphological characteristics of plants. Different nanoparticles had different effects on the biochemical indices of grains. Nanoparticle application increased the leaf area, plant height, the number of pods, the length and width of the pods, the mass of seeds of five plants at full maturity stage, the dry mass of 100 seeds, the number of productive nodes, the mass of bundle and the fat content of grain in the drought condition.