Impact of biogenic zinc oxide nanoparticles on physiological and biochemical attributes of pea (Pisum sativum L.) under drought stress

Drought is a significant environmental issue affecting crop yield, nutrient content, and human food. This study investigates the potential of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs) in mitigating the negative effects of drought stress on pea (Pisum sativum L.). ZnO-NPs were applied through seed priming, foliar application, and soil drenching at 0, 50, 100, and 150 ppm concentrations. Our findings showed that these three methods were more effective at different concentrations of ZnO-NPs. Seed priming at 50 ppm, foliar application at 100 ppm, and soil drenching at 150 ppm performed best in mitigating drought stress. Results showed that primed seeds with zinc oxide nanoparticles (50 ppm) have improved the physical growth, physiological, antioxidant, and mineral content by 35%, 45%, 57%, and 13% under drought stress as compared to control. It was observed that foliar application of ZnO-NPs (100 ppm) has enhanced physical growth, physiological, antioxidant, and mineral content by 43%, 54%, 64%, and 15% under drought stress as compared to the control. However, application of ZnO-NPs (150 ppm) in soli drenching improved the physical growth, physiological, antioxidant, and mineral content by 47%, 60%, 64%, and 16% under drought stress as compared to control. Moreover, ZnO-NPs amendments at different concentrations significantly decreased osmotic stress. This study provides innovative evidence of ZnO-NPs to mitigate drought stress in plants through various applications, revealing their potential to boost resilience in agriculture in case of drought stress conditions.