Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
Chemical and Biological Technologies in Agriculture, cilt.11, sa.108, ss.1-27, 2024 (SCI-Expanded)
Background Drought is a signifcant abiotic stress that adversely afects plant growth, development, and metabolic
processes, thereby reducing plant yield, quality, and production, and threatening global food security. In recent
years, nanotechnology has emerged as a promising strategy to overcome the existing environmental challenges
and has been tested on some plant species. But it is still awaiting investigation for grapevines. The aim of this study
was to investigate the potential of selenium nanoparticles (Se-NPs) to modulate some morphological, physiological,
and biochemical parameters in grapevine saplings (5 BB/Crimson Seedless, 41 B/Crimson Seedless, and 1103 P/Crim‑
son Seedless) under drought stress conditions.
Results In the study, Se-NP solutions at diferent concentrations (0 (control), 1, 10, and 100 ppm) were applied
by the spray method to wet the entire green surface of grapevine saplings grown under well-irrigated (90–100%
feld capacity) and drought stress (40–50% feld capacity) conditions. Our results showed that 10 ppm Se-NP con‑
centration had the most positive efect, 1 ppm concentration showed limited efects, and 100 ppm concentration
led to toxic efects, especially when combined with drought conditions. Se-NP applications at 10 ppm concentration
improved the growth parameters (leaf number, leaf area, root fresh and dry weight, shoot fresh and dry weight, etc.)
and increased the SPAD index of grapevine saplings under both normal and drought conditions. Additionally, 10 ppm
Se-NP applications improved the relative water content (RWC) and stomatal conductance values, proportional
to the increases in protein content. On the other hand, under drought conditions, the drought index, leaf tempera‑
ture, membrane damage index, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) content, and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels signifcantly
decreased as a result of 10 ppm Se-NP applications, showing an opposite trend. Furthermore, the levels of proline,
total phenolics, and antioxidant enzymes (CAT, SOD, and APX) that rose signifcantly due to drought stress were
reduced by 10 ppm Se-NP applications, which also helped to lessen the oxidative stress caused by the drought.
Conclusion The study concluded that foliar application of Se-NPs at 10 ppm signifcantly enhances drought toler‑
ance in grapevine saplings by improving antioxidant defense, proline and protein accumulation, and overall growth,
while lower concentrations are less efective and higher concentrations can cause phytotoxicity. These fndings
indicate that Se-NPs applications may hold promise not only for grapevines but also for mitigating drought stress
efects and improving productivity in other economically important fruit species, warranting further exploration
across diverse crop systems.