The effect of foliar application of chelate fertilizers and iron and zinc nanoparticles on the yield, quality, and grain enrichment of bread and durum wheat cultivars under dryland conditions

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 PhD student in Agrotechnology, Crop Plant Physiology, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Ilam, Iran

2 Ilam university, ilam, iran

3 Associate Professor of Plant Production Engineering and Genetics, Department of Plant Production and Genetics, Razi University, Kermanshah, Iran. Assistant Professor, National Rainforest Research Institute, Kermanshah, Iran

4 Department of Plant Production and Genetics, Campus of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Razi University, Kermanshah, Iran.

5 Assistant Professor, National Rainforest Research Institute, Kermanshah, Iran

10.22126/cbb.2025.13009.1122

Abstract

Introduction: Wheat (Triticum aesivum L.) is a major crop that is widely cultivated in a wide range of different regions in the world and is considered an important source of protein, carbohydrates, amino acids, fiber and vitamins. Among the factors limiting the performance of this crop, water is the most important factor that reduces its performance, especially in semi-arid and arid regions of the world, including Iran. Therefore, meeting the food needs of the growing population is a problem. Also, iron and zinc deficiencies is one oare the most important factors limiting the production and quality of wheat in calcareous soils of dryland areas. Therefore, the significance of further studies on drought stress and wheat leads researchers to use various methods, including the application of micronutrients at specific stages of wheat phenology.
Materials and methods: This study aimed to investigate the effects of combined foliar application of conventional (chelated) and modern (nano) forms of iron and zinc fertilizers on yield, yield components, nutritional quality, and grain concentration of these elements in four bread and durum wheat cultivars under rainfed conditions. The experiment was conducted in an split-plots experiment with randomized complete block design in three replications and two consecutive cropping years in Kermanshah province. The main factor included four wheat cultivars (two bread cultivars: Rijaw and Jam; two durum cultivars: Zardak and Tabesh) and the subfactor included nine fertilizer treatments (control; water, chelated and nano-chelated iron and zinc at concentrations of 0, 4 and 8 mg L-1).
Results: The results of the composite analysis showed that the interaction effect of cultivar and fertilizer type was significant on the most traits. The highest plant height (93.8 cm), leaf relative moisture percentage (86.77%), leaf area (26.31cm2) and number of grains per spike (33 grains) were obtained in bread wheat of Jam cultivar with 8 mg L-1 zinc nanochelate treatment. Grain yield and biomass increased significantly under the influence of nanofertilizers, especially at 8 mg L-1 concentration. The highest yield was obtained in 8 mg L-1 zinc nanochelate treatment in Jam cultivar (2791 kg ha -1), and then in 8 mg L-1 zinc nanochelate treatment in Rijaw cultivar (2616 kg ha-1). In addition, carbohydrate content, grain protein, iron and zinc concentration of grain increased significantly in nanochelate treatments. The application of iron and zinc nanochelates, especially at 8 mg L-1 concentration, significantly improved physiological traits, increased yield and enriched wheat grains with iron and zinc. The difference in response of cultivars indicates the importance of selecting the suitable cultivar along with modern nutritional management.
Conclusion: Overall, these findings clearly confirm that the response of wheat cultivars to the application of micronutrients (iron and zinc) is very specific and genotype-dependent. Therefore, the application of nanofertilizers could be recommended as an effective strategy in improving the yield and quality of rainfed wheats, especially bread wheat, and also in biofortification programs. Bread cultivars showed a more favorable response to foliar application of nanofertilizers and were superior in photosynthesis and yield indices.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

Abdi Benemar, H., Seifdavati, J., & Fathi Achachlouei, B. 2018. Comparison of Hach Method with Kjeldahl Method for Determining of Crude Protein Contents of Some Animal Feeds. Research On Animal Production, 818: 107-112.
Al-Juthery, H. W., Hassan, A. K. H., Musa, R. F., & Sahan, A. H. 2018. Maximize growth and yield of wheat by foliar application of complete nano-fertilizer and some bio-stimulators. Research on Crops, 19,3, 387-393. DOI : 10.31830/2348-7542.2018.0001.4.
Alloway, B. J. 2008. Zinc in soils and crop nutrition (2nd ed.). Paris: International Zinc Association (IZA) and International Fertilizer Industry Association (IFA). http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/abb.2016.76027.
Armin, MSA .S., Mashhadi. 2014. Effect of Time and Concentration of nano-Fe Foliar application on Yield and Yield Components of Wheat. International Journal of Biological Sciences, 4 ,1, 69-75. http://dx.doi.org/10.12692/ijb/4.9.69-75.
Barrs, H. D., & Weatherley, P. E. 2013. A re-examination of the relative turgidity technique for estimating water deficits in leaves. Australian journal of biological sciences 5,3, 413-428. https://doi.org/10.1071/BI9620413.
Cakmak, I. 2008. Enrichment of cereal grains with zinc: agronomic or genetic biofortification. Plant and soil, 302,1, 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-007-9466-3.
Dapkekar, A., Deshpande, P., Oak, M. D., Paknikar, K. M., & Rajwade, J. M. 2018. Zinc use efficiency is enhanced in wheat through nanofertilization. Scientific reports, 8,1, 6832. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-25247-5.
DeRosa, M. C., Monreal, C., Schnitzer, M., Walsh, R., & Sultan, Y. 2010. Nanotechnology in fertilizers. Nature nanotechnology, 5,2, 91-91. https://doi.org/10.1038/nnano.2010.2
Dimkpa, C. O., Bindraban, P. S., Fugice, J., Agyin-Birikorang, S., Singh, U., & Hellums, D. (2017). Composite micronutrient nanoparticles and salts decrease drought stress in soybean. Agronomy for Sustainable Development, 37,5, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13593-017-0441-7
Ding, Y., Zhao, W., Zhu, G., Wang, Q., Zhang, P., & Rui, Y. 2023. Recent trends in foliar nanofertilizers: a review. Nanomaterials, 13,21, 2906. https://doi.org/10.3390/nano13212906.
El-Shal, R. M., El-Naggar, A. H., El-Beshbeshy, T. R., Mahmoud, E. K., El-Kader, N. I. A., Missaui, A. M., ... & El-Sharkawy, M. S. 2022. Effect of nano-fertilizers on alfalfa plants grown under different salt stresses in hydroponic system. Agriculture, 12,8, 1113. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture12081113.
Fatollahpour Grangah, M., Rashidi, V., Mirshekari, B., Khalilvand Behrouzyar, E., & Farahvash, F. 2020. Effects of nano-fertilizers on physiological and yield characteristics of pinto bean cultivars under water deficit stress. Journal of Plant Nutrition, 43(19), 2898-2910. https://doi.org/10.1080/01904167.2020.1799000.
Irigoyen, J. J., Einerich, D. W. & SánchezDíaz, M. .1992. Water stress induced changes in concentrations of proline and total soluble sugars in nodulated alfalfa (Medicago sativa) plants. Physiologia plantarum, 84 ,1, 55-60. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1399-3054.1992.tb08764.x.
Kamali Omidi, T., Khorgami, A., & Taleshi, K. 2022. Effect of foliar application of humic acid levels and nano-fertilizer application on some quantitative and qualitative traits of pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo L.) in climatic conditions of Khorramabad area, Iran. Caspian Journal of Environmental Sciences, 20,3, 467-476. DOI: 10.22124/CJES.2022.5638.
Kausar, A., Hussain, S., Javed, T., Zafar, S., Anwar, S., Hussain, S., ... & Saqib, M. 2023. Zinc oxide nanoparticles as potential hallmarks for enhancing drought stress tolerance in wheat seedlings. Plant Physiology and Biochemistry, 195, 341-350. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.plaphy.2023.01.014.
Lindsay, W. L., & Norvell, W. 1978. Development of a DTPA soil test for zinc, iron, manganese, and copper. Soil science society of America journal, 42,3,: 421-428. https://doi.org/10.2136/sssaj1978.03615995004200030009x.
Liu, R., & Lal, R. 2015. Potentials of engineered nanoparticles as fertilizers for increasing agronomic productions. Science of the Total Environment, 514, 131–139. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2015.01.104
Raliya, R., Nair, R., Chavalmane, S., Wang, W. N., & Biswas, P. 2016. Mechanistic evaluation of translocation and physiological impact of titanium dioxide and zinc oxide nanoparticles on the tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) plant. Metallomics, 7,12, 1584–1594. https://doi.org/10.1039/C5MT00168D
Rameshaiah, G. N., Pallavi, J., & Shabnam, S. 2015. Nano fertilizers and nano sensors–An attempt for developing smart agriculture., 3,1, 314–320. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants10020259.
Rizwan, M., Ali, S., Qayyum, M. F., Ok, Y. S., Adrees, M., Ibrahim, M., ... & Al-Wabel, M. I. 2019. Effect of metal and metal oxide nanoparticles on growth and physiology of globally important food crops: A critical review. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 322,2, 2–16. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2016.05.061.
Al-Ghazali, Z. A. K., & Al-Zubaidy, S. A. A. H. 2023. Effect of Combinations of Chemical, Nano-Fertilizer and Bio-Fertilizer NPK on Yield and Quality Traits of some Bread Wheat Cultivars Triticum aestivum L. In IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science (Vol. 1262, No. 5, p. 052049). IOP Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/1262/5/052049.
Hamoda, A. M. 2024. Effect of nano-fertilizer and bio-growth regulator on yield attributes of wheat. Journal of Plant Production, 15,3, 101-109. https://doi.org/10.21608/jpp.2024.266830.1305.
Seleiman, M. F., Al-Suhaibani, N., Ali, N., Akmal, M., Alotaibi, M., Refay, Y., ... & Battaglia, M. L. 2021. Drought stress impacts on plants and different approaches to alleviate its adverse effects. Plants, 10,2, 259. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants10020259.
Seyed Sharifi, R., Khalilzadeh, R., Pirzad, A., & Anwar, S. 2020. Effects of biofertilizers and nano zinc-iron oxide on yield and physicochemical properties of wheat under water deficit conditions. Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis, 51.19, 2511-2524. https://doi.org/10.1080/00103624.2020.1845350.3
Sharma, A., Dhaliwal, S. S., & Shukla, A. K. 2013. Enhancing grain zinc and iron concentration through foliar application of zinc and iron salts in wheat genotypes grown on typic ustipsamment. Journal of Xu, J., Cui, Y., Wang, J., Liu, Z., Zhao, C., Liu, Z., Niu, N., Chen, L., Xhao, X & Fu, Y. 2025. Advances of nano-photofertilizers in plant research. Nanoscale, 17 ,27, 16153-16192. https://doi.org/10.1039/D5NR00906E.
Cereal Biotechnology and Biochemistry
Volume 4, Issue 3 - Serial Number 3
September 2025
Pages 347-372

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics