MITIGATING SALT STRESS IN SORGHUM THROUGH THE THERAPEUTIC ROLE OF TITANIUM DIOXIDE NANOPARTICLES

Abstract

A pot experiment was conducted inside the agricultural building beside the agronomy laboratory at Hajee Mohammad Danesh Science and Technology University (HSTU) in Dinajpur, Bangladesh. The experiment was carried out from January 2023 to May 2023. to investigate the mitigating impact of titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2 NPs) on sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) under saline-induced environments. The experiment involved three degrees of salt stress: S0 (0 mM NaCl), S1 (100 mM NaCl), and S2 (200 mM NaCl), as well as three levels of titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2 NPs): TiO2 NPs (0 ppm), TiO2 NPs (150 ppm), and TiO2 NPs (300 ppm). The experiment was carried out using a completely randomized design (CRD) with two components and three replications. The salt solution was artificially generated by dissolving a precise quantity of commercially obtained NaCl in tap water. The salt solution was applied according to the treatment requirements. The Morphology like plant height(cm), Growth traits like Leaf fresh weight (g), Stem fresh weight (g), Root fresh weight (g), Leaf dry weight (g), Stem dry weight (g) Root dry weight (g) Physiology (Water status in plants) like RWC, WSD, WRC, WUC. Yield contributing characteristics such as Panicle Length (cm), Panicle weight (g), Seeds per panicle, No. of clusters panicle, thousand seed weight (g), Seed yield (g), Stover yield (g), Biological yield (g), Harvest index. Various salinity levels, S0 (0 mM NaCl), S1 (100 mM NaCl), and S2 (200 mM NaCl), had a notable adverse effect. Rising salt levels exacerbated the negative impact on all plant characteristics. Titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2 NPs) at various concentrations improved plant growth, physiology, and yield under salinity stress conditions.