Role of silver nanoparticles in countering negative effects generated by PEG induced drought stress in Pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum L.) R.B
1Maleeha Taqdees Malik*, 1Ira khan, 2G. Vijay Kumar, 1Ghafoor Unnisa, 1Aurosha Fayaz, 1S. Maqbool Ahmed and 1Mohammad Faizan
1Botany Section, School of Sciences, Maulana Azad National Urdu University, Hyderabad - 500032 India 2Department of Genetics, Osmania University, Hyderabad - 500007 India *Corresponding author: maleehataqdeesmalik@gmail.com
ABSTRACT
Millets are becoming an important crop for food securityaiding in the fight against povertyand malnutrition in arid and semi-arid regions. It has become a staple grain for millions of people in West Africa and India. Drought stress included as one of the most important environmental constrains to limits the growth and yield of the crop plants. Seed germination initiate from the imbibition of water which activates the physiological processes that’s where plant’s life start. A study was conducted to investigate the effect of silver nanoparticles Ag NPs to ameliorating the negative effects caused by drought stress on germination and growth of pearl millet seeds. Ag NPs can improve seed germination and contribute to plant tolerance of drought stress toxicity. During current experiment, the efficacy of Ag NPs was assessed for reducing drought toxicity in Pearl millet. In our experiment, seed germination, shoot length and root length, germination index, and vigor index were calculated with/without application of Ag NPs 50 ppm in the presence/absence of polyethylene glycol 20 per cent in Pearl millet. Application of Ag NPs, in the presence of PEG, enhanced seed germination, seedling growth, germination index, and vigor index significantly compared to the seeds treated with PEG. These results depicted that application of Ag NPs, could be a useful approach to assist PEG confiscation and stress tolerance against drought in Pearl millet in drought prone areas.