Metabolic Status during Germination of Nano Silica Primed Zea mays Seeds under Salinity Stress

Priming is a safe, easy, and effective way to increase plant tolerance against stress. This research aims to study the metabolic status of the nano-silica-primed germinated maize seeds under salinity stress. We prepare the nano-silica solution (10 mg/ml) from rice straw. We primed group maize seeds with nano-silica solution and the other group remained dry. The two seeds group germinated under different concentrations of NaCl (0, 50, 150 mM). Nano-silica primed seeds showed a higher germination rate and seedling vigor index. Priming helps the maize seeds to germinate under salinity stress through increasing the antioxidant enzymes activity which in turn suppresses the increase in the reactive oxygen species and so decreases the lipid peroxidation. Also, priming increases the gibberellin content and therefore activates the amylase and lipase activities which ensured the availability of the simple compounds needed for energy releasing through respiration. Besides that, priming enhances the activity of the respiration enzymes such as aldolase and iso citrate lyase. Finally, nano-silica priming enhanced the metabolic status of maize seeds under salinity stress.