Abstract
The increasing severity of salinity stress, exacerbated by climate change, poses significant challenges to sustainable agriculture, particularly in salt-affected regions. Soil salinity, impacting approximately 20% of irrigated lands, severely reduces crop productivity by disrupting plants’ physiological and biochemical processes. This study evaluates the effectiveness of zinc (Zn) and silicon (Si) nanofertilizers in improving maize (Zea mays L.) growth, nutrient uptake, and yield under both saline and non-saline field conditions. ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) were synthesized via the co-precipitation method due to its ability to produce highly pure and uniform particles, while the sol–gel method was chosen for SiO2 NPs to ensure precise control over the particle size and enhanced surface activity. The NPs were characterized using UV-Vis spectroscopy, XRD, SEM, and TEM-EDX, confirming their crystalline nature, morphology, and nanoscale size (ZnO~12 nm, SiO2~15 nm). A split-plot field experiment was conducted to assess the effects of the nano and conventional Zn and Si fertilizers. Zn was applied at 10 ppm (22.5 kg/ha) and Si at 90 ppm (201 kg/ha). Various agronomic, chemical, and physiological parameters were then evaluated. The results demonstrated that nano Zn/Si significantly enhanced the cob length and grain yield. Nano Si led to the highest biomass increase (110%) and improved the nutrient use efficiency by 105% under saline and 110% under non-saline conditions compared to the control. Under saline stress, nano Zn/Si improved the nutrient uptake efficiency, reduced sodium accumulation, and increased the grain yield by 66% and 106%, respectively, compared to the control. A Principal Component Analysis (PCA) highlighted a strong correlation between nano Zn/Si applications with the harvest index and Si contents in shoots, along with other physiological and yield attributes. These findings highlight that nanotechnology-based fertilizers can mitigate salinity stress and enhance crop productivity, providing a promising strategy for sustainable agriculture in salt-affected soils.
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Claims 10
Claim · model-written summary
Nano Zn/Si enhanced cob length.
Zea maysNot reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Maize”
e0“nano Zn/Si significantly enhanced the cob length and grain yield”
Claim · model-written summary
Nano Zn/Si enhanced grain yield.
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Maize”
e0“nano Zn/Si significantly enhanced the cob length and grain yield”
Claim · model-written summary
Nano Si produced the highest biomass increase of 110%.
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Maize”
e0“Nano Si led to the highest biomass increase (110%)”
Claim · model-written summary
Nano Si improved nutrient use efficiency by 105% under saline conditions.
- Treatment
- Nano Sie0
- Outcome
- nutrient use efficiencye0
- Direction
- improvede0
- Value
- 105%e0
- Qualifier
- under salinee0
- Comparator
- controle0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Maize”
e0“Nano Si led to the highest biomass increase (110%) and improved the nutrient use efficiency by 105% under saline and 110% under non-saline conditions compared to the control”
Claim · model-written summary
Nano Si improved nutrient use efficiency by 110% under non-saline conditions.
- Treatment
- Nano Sie0
- Outcome
- nutrient use efficiencye0
- Direction
- improvede0
- Value
- 110%e0
- Qualifier
- under non-salinee0
- Comparator
- controle0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Maize”
e0“Nano Si led to the highest biomass increase (110%) and improved the nutrient use efficiency by 105% under saline and 110% under non-saline conditions compared to the control”
Claim · model-written summary
Nano Zn/Si improved nutrient uptake efficiency under salinity.
- Treatment
- nano Zn/Sie0
- Outcome
- nutrient uptake efficiencye0
- Direction
- improvede0
- Qualifier
- Under saline stresse0
- Comparator
- controle0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Maize”
e0“Under saline stress, nano Zn/Si improved the nutrient uptake efficiency, reduced sodium accumulation, and increased the grain yield by 66% and 106%, respectively, compared to the control”
Claim · model-written summary
Nano Zn/Si reduced sodium accumulation under salinity.
- Treatment
- nano Zn/Sie0
- Outcome
- sodium accumulatione0
- Direction
- reducede0
- Qualifier
- Under saline stresse0
- Comparator
- controle0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Maize”
e0“Under saline stress, nano Zn/Si improved the nutrient uptake efficiency, reduced sodium accumulation, and increased the grain yield by 66% and 106%, respectively, compared to the control”
Claim · model-written summary
Nano Zn increased grain yield by 66% under salinity.
- Treatment
- nano Zne0
- Outcome
- grain yielde0
- Direction
- increasede0
- Value
- 66%e0
- Qualifier
- Under saline stresse0
- Comparator
- controle0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Maize”
e0“Under saline stress, nano Zn/Si improved the nutrient uptake efficiency, reduced sodium accumulation, and increased the grain yield by 66% and 106%, respectively, compared to the control”
Claim · model-written summary
Nano Si increased grain yield by 106% under salinity.
- Treatment
- Nano Sie1
- Outcome
- grain yielde0
- Direction
- increasede0
- Value
- 106%e0
- Qualifier
- Under saline stresse0
- Comparator
- controle0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Maize”
e0“Under saline stress, nano Zn/Si improved the nutrient uptake efficiency, reduced sodium accumulation, and increased the grain yield by 66% and 106%, respectively, compared to the control”
e1“Nano Si led to the highest biomass increase (110%)”
Claim · model-written summary
Nano Zn/Si applications correlated strongly with harvest index and shoot Si content.
Not reportedDirection
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Maize”
e0“A Principal Component Analysis (PCA) highlighted a strong correlation between nano Zn/Si applications with the harvest index and Si contents in shoots”
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See all 233 papers →8 of 10 groups shown: named compounds and organisms first, then groups whose results differ (checked claim by claim), then those with positive and negative results, then the smaller groups.
Claims are grouped by organism, treatment and what was measured or targeted. A paper counts as positive when any of its claims in the group is positive.