Effects of Seed Nanopriming via Graphene Quantum Dot Coating on Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) Germination under Cold and Salinity Stress
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24925/turjaf.v14i5.1330-1339.8626Keywords:
Graphene quantum dots, Seed nanopriming, Seed coating, Chickpea, Hormesis, Abiotic stressAbstract
This study aimed to evaluate the effects of graphene quantum dot (GQD)–based seed nanopriming applied by seed coating on the germination of chickpea (Cicer arietinum) germination under cold and salinity stress conditions. GQDs were applied at concentrations of 0, 50, 100, 200, and 400 mg L⁻¹ using a biopolymer-based aqueous coating medium. Seeds were subjected to two temperature regimes (25 °C and 15 °C) and two salinity levels (0 and 100 mM NaCl). Germination performance was evaluated based on radicle and plumule emergence, germination percentage, and mean germination time (MGT). The results showed a biphasic dose–response pattern, in which 200 mg L⁻¹ GQDs significantly improved radicle elongation, germination rate, and germination uniformity. In contrast, the highest concentration (400 mg L⁻¹) showed inhibitory effects, indicating a concentration-dependent response. Under salinity and low-temperature stress, GQD-based nanopriming partially reduced stress-related limitations and supported early seedling performance. Although GQDs promoted early radicle emergence at 15 °C, plumule development was not observed under cold conditions, indicating that low temperature remained a limiting factor for seedling growth. Overall, the findings indicate that optimally applied GQD-based seed coating has potential to improve chickpea germination and early establishment under adverse environmental conditions.
References
Agathokleous, E., Kitao, M., & Calabrese, E. J. (2020). Hormesis: Highly Generalizable and Beyond Laboratory. Trends in plant science, 25(11), 1076–1086. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tplants.2020.05.006
Andleeb, N., Zafar, S., Rahim, Z., et al. (2025). Carbon quantum dots as versatile nanomaterials for improving soil health and plant stress tolerance: a comprehensive review. Planta, 262, 44. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00425-025-04758-2
Anghla, L. C., Rehan, Das, S., et al. (2025). Assessment of seed priming for mitigating abiotic stress and improving growth of horticultural crops: a review. Discover Applied Science, 7, 1423. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42452-025-08054-2
Benali, A., El Haddad, N., Patil, S. B., Goyal, A., Hejjaoui, K., El Baouchi, A., Gaboun, F., Taghouti, M., Ouhssine, M., & Kumar, S. (2023). Impact of Terminal Heat and Combined Heat-Drought Stress on Plant Growth, Yield, Grain Size, and Nutritional Quality in Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.). Plants (Basel, Switzerland), 12(21), 3726. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12213726
Bewley, J. D., Bradford, K. J., Hilhorst, H. W. M., & Nonogaki, H. (2013). Seeds: Physiology of Development, Germination and Dormancy (3rd ed.). Springer, New York. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-4693-4
Dadaşoğlu, E., Ekinci, M., & Yıldırım, E. (2020). Effects of Salt Stress on Seed Germination of Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) and Pea (Pisum sativum L.). Atatürk Üniversitesi Ziraat Fakültesi Dergisi, 51(1), 53–62. https://doi.org/10.17097/ataunizfd.596530
do Espírito Santo Pereira, A., Caixeta Oliveira, H., Fernandes Fraceto, L., & Santaella, C. (2021). Nanotechnology Potential in Seed Priming for Sustainable Agriculture. Nanomaterials, 11(2), 267. https://doi.org/10.3390/nano11020267
Donia, D. T., & Carbone, M. (2023). Seed Priming with Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles to Enhance Crop Tolerance to Environmental Stresses. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 24(24), 17612. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms242417612
El-Shazoly, R. M., Othman, A. A., Zaheer, M. S., et al. (2025). Zinc oxide seed priming enhances drought tolerance in wheat seedlings by improving antioxidant activity and osmoprotection. Scientific Reports, 15, 3863. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-86824-z
Ghosh, T., Atta, K., Mondal, S., et al. (2025). Hormonal signaling at seed germination and seedling stage of plants under salinity stress. Plant Growth Regulation, 105, 583–600. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10725-025-01305-7
Guzel Deger A., Çevik S., Kahraman O., Turunc E., Yakin A., Binzet R. (2025). Effects of green and chemically synthesized ZnO nanoparticles on Capsicum annuum under drought stress. Acta Physiol. Plant. 2025;47:17. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11738-025-03767-8
Güzel Değer, A., & Çevik, S. (2021). Impacts of nano-TiO2 on the initial development stages of barley seedlings under salinity. Mediterranean Agricultural Sciences, 34(1), 109-116. https://doi.org/10.29136/mediterranean.816107
Haydar, M. S., Ali, S., Mandal, P., Roy, D., Roy, M. N., Kundu, S., Kundu, S., & Choudhuri, C. (2023). Fe-Mn nanocomposites doped graphene quantum dots alleviate salt stress of Triticum aestivum through osmolyte accumulation and antioxidant defense. Scientific Reports, 13(1), 11040.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-38268-6
Jatana, B. S., Grover, S., Ram, H., & Baath, G. S. (2024). Seed Priming: Molecular and Physiological Mechanisms Underlying Biotic and Abiotic Stress Tolerance. Agronomy, 14(12), 2901. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy14122901
Kadyan, P., Thillai Arasu, P., & Kataria, S. K. (2024). Graphene Quantum Dots: Green Synthesis, Characterization, and Antioxidant and Antimicrobial Potential. International Journal of Biomaterials, 2024, 2626006. https://doi.org/10.1155/2024/2626006
Kaur, S., Gupta, A. K., & Kaur, N. (2002). Effect of osmo- and hydropriming of chickpea seeds on seedling growth and carbohydrate metabolism under water deficit stress. Plant Growth Regulation, 37, 17–22. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1020310008830
Khan, M. N., Mobin, M., Abbas, Z. K., AlMutairi, K. A., & Siddiqui, Z. H. (2017). Role of nanomaterials in plants under challenging environments. Plant Physiology and Biochemistry, 110, 194–209. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.plaphy.2016.05.038
Khan, N. A., Owens, L., Nunez, M., & Khan, A. L. (2025). Complexity of combined abiotic stresses to crop plants. Plant Stress, 10, 100926. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stress.2025.100926
Khodakovskaya, M. V., de Silva, K., Biris, A. S., Dervishi, E., & Villagarcia, H. (2012). Carbon nanotubes induce growth enhancement of tobacco cells. ACS nano, 6(3), 2128–2135. https://doi.org/10.1021/nn204643g
Khoshro, H., Mohammadzadeh, A., Eskandari, I., & Pouralibaba, H. (2025). Improving the Land, Water, and Energy Productivity of Dryland Chickpea by Managing the Genotype and Tillage System. Legume Science, 7(3), e70033. https://doi.org/10.1002/leg3.70033
Latham, M. C. (1997). Human nutrition in the developing world (No. 29). Rome: Food & Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
Merga, B., & Haji, J. (2019). Economic importance of chickpea: Production, value, and world trade. Cogent Food & Agriculture, 5(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/23311932.2019.1615718
Nair, R., Mohamed, M. S., Gao, W., Maekawa, T., Yoshida, Y., Ajayan, P. M., & Kumar, D. S. (2012). Effect of carbon nanomaterials on the germination and growth of rice plants. Journal of nanoscience and nanotechnology, 12(3), 2212–2220. https://doi.org/10.1166/jnn.2012.5775
Nile, S. H., Thiruvengadam, M., Wang, Y., Samynathan, R., Shariati, M. A., Rebezov, M., Nile, A., Sun, M., Venkidasamy, B., Xiao, J., & Kai, G. (2022). Nano-priming as emerging seed priming technology for sustainable agriculture—recent developments and future perspectives. Journal of Nanobiotechnology, 20(1), 254. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12951-022-01423-8
Nongbet, A., Mishra, A. K., Mohanta, Y. K., Mahanta, S., Ray, M. K., Khan, M., Baek, K. H., & Chakrabartty, I. (2022). Nanofertilizers: A Smart and Sustainable Attribute to Modern Agriculture. Plants (Basel, Switzerland), 11(19), 2587. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants11192587
Ochoa-Chaparro, E. H., Patiño-Cruz, J. J., Anchondo-Páez, J. C., Pérez-Álvarez, S., Chávez-Mendoza, C., Castruita-Esparza, L. U., Márquez, E. M., & Sánchez, E. (2025). Seed Nanopriming with ZnO and SiO2 Enhances Germination, Seedling Vigor, and Antioxidant Defense Under Drought Stress. Plants, 14(11), 1726. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14111726
Pandey, K., Lahiani, M. H., Hicks, V. K., Hudson, M. K., Green, M. J., & Khodakovskaya, M. (2018). Effects of carbon-based nanomaterials on seed germination, biomass accumulation and salt stress response of bioenergy crops. PloS one, 13(8), e0202274. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0202274
Richards, M. F., Maphosa, L., & Preston, A. L. (2022). Impact of Sowing Time on Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) Biomass Accumulation and Yield. Agronomy, 12(1), 160. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy12010160
Rico, C. M., Majumdar, S., Duarte-Gardea, M., Peralta-Videa, J. R., & Gardea-Torresdey, J. L. (2011). Interaction of nanoparticles with edible plants and their possible implications in the food chain. Journal of agricultural and food chemistry, 59(8), 3485–3498. https://doi.org/10.1021/jf104517j
Rivero, R.M., Mittler, R., Blumwald, E. and Zandalinas, S.I. (2022), Developing climate-resilient crops: improving plant tolerance to stress combination. Plant J, 109: 373-389. https://doi.org/10.1111/tpj.15483
Sánchez-Bermúdez, M., Del Pozo, J. C., & Pernas, M. (2022). Effects of combined abiotic stresses related to climate change on root growth in crops. Frontiers in Plant Science, 13, 918537. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2022.918537
Shelar, A., Singh, A. V., Chaure, N., Jagtap, P., Chaudhari, P., Shinde, M., Nile, S. H., Chaskar, M., & Patil, R. (2024). Nanoprimers in sustainable seed treatment: Molecular insights into abiotic-biotic stress tolerance mechanisms for enhancing germination and improved crop productivity. Science of the Total Environment, 951, 175118. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.175118
Sohail, M., Pirzada, T., Opperman, C. H., & Khan, S. A. (2022). Recent advances in seed coating technologies: Transitioning toward sustainable agriculture. Green Chemistry, 24(16), 6052–6085. https://doi.org/10.1039/D2GC02389J
Steven, S., Islam, M. S., Ghimire, A., Methela, N. J., Kwon, E. H., Yun, B. W., Lee, I. J., Kim, S. H., & Kim, Y. (2024). Chitosan-GSNO Nanoparticles and Silicon Priming Enhance the Germination and Seedling Growth of Soybean (Glycine max L.). Plants (Basel, Switzerland), 13(10), 1290. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants13101290
Tondey, M., Kalia, A., Singh, A., Dheri, G. S., Taggar, M. S., Nepovimova, E., Krejcar, O., & Kuca, K. (2021). Seed Priming and Coating by Nano-Scale Zinc Oxide Particles Improved Vegetative Growth, Yield and Quality of Fodder Maize (Zea mays). Agronomy, 11(4), 729. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy11040729
Turunç, E., Kahraman, O., Döğen, A., & Binzet, R. (2023). Green synthesis of graphene quantum dot and its electrochemical, antioxidant, and antimicrobial activities. Synthetic Metals, 299, 117453. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.synthmet.2023.117453
Verma, S. K., Das, A. K., Gantait, S., Kumar, V., & Gurel, E. (2019). Applications of carbon nanomaterials in the plant system: A perspective view on the pros and cons. Science of The Total Environment, 667, 485–499. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.02.409
Xia, K., Liu, A., Wang, Y., Yang, W., & Jin, Y. (2019). Mechanism of salt-inhibited early seed germination analysed by transcriptomic sequencing. Seed Science Research, 29(2), 73–84. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0960258519000047
Zandalinas, S. I., & Mittler, R. (2022). Plant responses to multifactorial stress combination. The New phytologist, 234(4), 1161–1167. https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.18087
Zandalinas, S. I., Balfagón, D., Gómez-Cadenas, A., & Mittler, R. (2022). Plant responses to climate change: Metabolic changes under combined abiotic stresses. Journal of Experimental Botany, 73(11), 3339–3354. https://doi.org/10.1093/jxb/erac073
Zhou, L., Ullah, F., Zou, J., & Zeng, X. (2025). Molecular and Physiological Responses of Plants that Enhance Cold Tolerance. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 26(3), 1157. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms26031157
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
