The Effect of Fe3O4 Nanoparticle Applications on Seedling Development in Water-Stressed Strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa 'Albion') Plants

Abstract

In this study, the effects of iron nanoparticles (NP) applied under water stress conditions on strawberry plant developments were investigated. The study was conducted using a split-plot trial design consisting of three replications. The main plots in the trial had three distinct irrigation water levels (I) (i.e., 50% [I50], 75% [I75] and 100% [I100] of the plant's required water), whereas the subplots contained four different concentrations (0 mg L-1 Fe3O4 [NP0], 0.01 mg L-1 Fe3O4 [NP1], 0.1 mg L-1 Fe3O4 [NP2], and 1 mg L-1 Fe3O4 [NP3] applied parcels) of Fe3O4 nanoparticles. The effects of irrigation water level, NP level, and their interactions on seedling development were found to be statistically significant. With increasing irrigation water and NP levels, increases in the number of seedlings, leaf area and number of leaves were observed. The highest average number of seedlings was obtained from the I100 and NP3 subjects, at 145.2 and 183.0 plants, respectively. In terms of the interaction between irrigation water level and iron nanoparticles, the highest value was 207.7 plant-1 from the I50 x NP3 interaction. With increasing iron nanoparticle concentration, the number of leaves per plant also increased, and the greatest increase was detected for the I50 x NP3 interaction. Iron nanoparticle application also had a positive effect on the relative water content (RWC), leaf relative water content (LRWC), and chlorophyll stability index (CSI), especially under water stress conditions, which increased significantly compared to those under control conditions. After analyzing the data, it was determined that, when applied under water stress conditions, iron nanoparticles increased the plant's resilience to stress and had a beneficial effect on strawberry plant development.