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<p>Drought is one of the major environmental stressors that significantly limits the germination, seedling growth, and productivity of cotton, particularly in arid and semi-arid regions. Recently, nanopriming has emerged as a novel and environmentally friendly seed treatment strategy to enhance plant resilience to drought stress. This study investigated the efficacy of nanopriming with Fe<sub>3</sub>O<sub>4</sub> and ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) incorporated into cellulose microfibres (CMF) in improving drought tolerance of cotton (<i>Gossypium hirsutum</i> L.) under osmotic stress induced by polyethylene glycol (PEG). CMF extracted from cotton stalk residues was used as a sustainable carrier for Fe<sub>3</sub>O<sub>4</sub> and ZnO NPs, yielding Fe/CMF and Zn/CMF composites. Cotton seeds were primed with Fe/CMF (50 and 100 ppm), Zn/CMF (150 and 200 ppm), and a non-primed control, and exposed to three water regimes (0%, 10%, and 15% PEG) to simulate increasing drought severity during germination and early seedling establishment. A comprehensive set of germination, growth, physiological, and biochemical traits was evaluated, including germination percentage, mean germination time, seedling vigour index, root and shoot growth, relative water content (RWC), proline accumulation, oxidative stress markers (malondialdehyde and hydrogen peroxide), and antioxidant enzyme activities (SOD, POD, and CAT). Nanopriming, particularly with 50 ppm Fe/CMF and 200 ppm Zn/CMF, significantly enhanced germination performance, seedling vigour, and biomass accumulation under moderate and severe PEG-induced drought stress. Moreover, nanoprimed seedlings maintained higher RWC, exhibited strongly upregulated antioxidant enzyme activities, accumulated greater proline levels, and showed marked reductions in lipid peroxidation and hydrogen peroxide content, indicating improved osmotic adjustment, redox homeostasis, and membrane stability under drought conditions. These results demonstrate that CMF-mediated delivery of Fe<sub>3</sub>O<sub>4</sub> and ZnO NPs effectively mitigates drought-induced physiological and oxidative constraints during early cotton establishment, highlighting Fe/CMF and Zn/CMF nanopriming as a promising, sustainable strategy for enhancing early-stage drought tolerance in cotton-based production systems.</p>

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Fe3O4 and ZnO nanoparticles on cotton-stalk-derived cellulose microfibers enable a nanopriming strategy to enhance drought resilience in cotton

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

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  • 发表日期：

    2026年5月20日

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  • Rasmieh Hamid,
  • Zahra Ghorbanzadeh,
  • Elaheh Motamedi,
  • Omran Alishah

摘要

Drought is one of the major environmental stressors that significantly limits the germination, seedling growth, and productivity of cotton, particularly in arid and semi-arid regions. Recently, nanopriming has emerged as a novel and environmentally friendly seed treatment strategy to enhance plant resilience to drought stress. This study investigated the efficacy of nanopriming with Fe3O4 and ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) incorporated into cellulose microfibres (CMF) in improving drought tolerance of cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) under osmotic stress induced by polyethylene glycol (PEG). CMF extracted from cotton stalk residues was used as a sustainable carrier for Fe3O4 and ZnO NPs, yielding Fe/CMF and Zn/CMF composites. Cotton seeds were primed with Fe/CMF (50 and 100 ppm), Zn/CMF (150 and 200 ppm), and a non-primed control, and exposed to three water regimes (0%, 10%, and 15% PEG) to simulate increasing drought severity during germination and early seedling establishment. A comprehensive set of germination, growth, physiological, and biochemical traits was evaluated, including germination percentage, mean germination time, seedling vigour index, root and shoot growth, relative water content (RWC), proline accumulation, oxidative stress markers (malondialdehyde and hydrogen peroxide), and antioxidant enzyme activities (SOD, POD, and CAT). Nanopriming, particularly with 50 ppm Fe/CMF and 200 ppm Zn/CMF, significantly enhanced germination performance, seedling vigour, and biomass accumulation under moderate and severe PEG-induced drought stress. Moreover, nanoprimed seedlings maintained higher RWC, exhibited strongly upregulated antioxidant enzyme activities, accumulated greater proline levels, and showed marked reductions in lipid peroxidation and hydrogen peroxide content, indicating improved osmotic adjustment, redox homeostasis, and membrane stability under drought conditions. These results demonstrate that CMF-mediated delivery of Fe3O4 and ZnO NPs effectively mitigates drought-induced physiological and oxidative constraints during early cotton establishment, highlighting Fe/CMF and Zn/CMF nanopriming as a promising, sustainable strategy for enhancing early-stage drought tolerance in cotton-based production systems.