GREEN SYNTHESIZED SILVER NANOPARTICLES ALLEVIATE LEAD TOXICITY IN MAIZE AND WHEAT

Lead (Pb) toxicity detrimentally impacts crop growth. Its toxicity in plants results in stunted growth, chlorosis, reduced photosynthesis, disrupted nutrient uptake, oxidative stress, and altered root morphology, compromising overall plant health. Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) demonstrate high surface area and reactivity in this regard. It can facilitate the efficient adsorption of lead ions in the contaminated rhizosphere, which makes it a promising remediation strategy. Therefore, a current pot experiment was conducted on wheat and maize cultivated in Pb-contaminated and non-contaminated soil. There were 2 levels of AgNPs (0 and 100 mg kg(-1)) were applied with and without Pb toxicity (400 mg kg(-1)). Results showed that applying 100 mg kg(-1) AgNPs+Pb caused improvement in shoot length (similar to 30 and similar to 26%), chlorophyll a (similar to 31 and similar to 33%), chlorophyll b (similar to 44 and similar to 57%), total chlorophyll (similar to 36 and similar to 40%) over Pb (400 mg kg(-1)) in wheat and maize respectively. A significant improvement in wheat and maize leaves N, P, K, photosynthetic rate, transpiration rate, and stomatal conductance also validated the effectiveness of AgNPs+Pb over Pb. In conclusion, 100 mg kg(-1) AgNPs have the potential to regulate antioxidant activity and improve nutrient concentration to alleviate Pb toxicity in wheat and maize. More investigations are suggested at the field level to declare 100 mg kg(-1) AgNPs as the best application rate and treatment for mitigating Pb toxicity in different cereal crops under variable agro climates.