The response of pinto beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L) under salinity stress conditions to the application of potassium nanoparticles

Subject Areas : Plant physiology

Fatemeh Naghavi ¹ , sayed mohammad reza khoshroo ^{2 *} , Maryam Kazemipour ³ , Mehrnaz Mahmoudi Zarandi ⁴

1 - Department of Biology, Kerman Branch, Islamic Azad University, Kerman, Iran
2 - Department of Biology, Kerman Branch, Islamic Azad University, Kerman, Iran
3 - Department of chemistry, Kerman Branch, Islamic Azad University, Kerman, Iran
4 - Department of Biology, Kerman Branch, Islamic Azad University, Kerman, Iran

Received: 2025-01-13 Accepted : 2025-03-10 Published : 2025-03-27

Keywords: Common bean, Green nanoparticles, Photosynthetic pigments, Salinity stress,

Abstract :

Salinity is one of the most significant abiotic stresses limiting seed germination, seedling establishment, and growth worldwide, leading to substantial reductions in agricultural productivity. In recent years, engineered nanoparticles have emerged as a promising alternative for mitigating the adverse effects of abiotic stresses such as salinity. This study aimed to investigate the response of common bean plants to potassium nanoparticles under salinity stress. Potassium nanoparticles were biosynthesized using Aloe vera plant extract and an aqueous solution of K₂SO₄.5H₂O. A factorial experiment in a completely randomized design was conducted to evaluate the effects of potassium nanoparticles on germination, growth parameters, and photosynthetic pigments of common bean under four salinity levels (0, 40, 80, and 120 mM NaCl) and four potassium nanoparticle concentrations (0, 20, 60, and 150 mg/L). Various analyses, including UV-visible, DLS, and SEM, were performed to characterize the synthesized nanoparticles. Analysis of variance revealed that increasing salinity stress decreased germination percentage and vegetative growth factors, as well as photosynthetic pigments. The interaction between salinity stress and potassium nanoparticles resulted in increased germination percentage, growth parameters (fresh and dry weight of root and shoot at 150 mg/L), and photosynthetic pigments (chlorophyll b, total chlorophyll, and carotenoids at 20 mg/L), while decreasing chlorophyll a content.