Investigating the morphological and physiological characteristics of Narcissus tazetta L. in response to the foliar application of nano-molecules of chitosan and silicon

Narcissus, with a unique fragrance, is one of the most beautiful and oldest ornamental plants in Iran and all over the world. Considering the development of nanotechnology applications in various sciences and the increasing role of nanotechnology in the field of plant breeding, the present study was designed to investigate the effect of nano compounds on the morphological and physiological characteristics of narcissus in field cultivation in Behbahan city. In the present study, the effect of foliar spraying of plants with distilled water (control), silicon, nanosilicon, chitosan, nanochitosan and nanochitosan-nanosilicon on the performance of narcissus was studied in the form of a randomized complete block design. The ۱۴-day-old plants were sprayed once every five days for a month. The results showed that the silicon, nanosilicon, chitosan, nanochitosan and nanochitosan-nanosilicon treatments improved the morphological characteristics of the plants by an average of ۳۲% flowering percentage, ۹% rate of flowering, ۸% flower diameter, ۹% flower fresh weight and ۲۶% the number of flowers per flowering stem compared to control plants. According to the physiological aspect, an increase was achieved in the chlorophylls a and b, carotenoids, water soluble carbohydrates and proteins contents, and catalase activity in the leaves of plants under silicon, nanosilicon, chitosan, nanochitosan and nanochitosan-nanosilicon treatments, while the hydrogen peroxide content decreased. The most effective treatment was nanochitosan-nanosilicon, which increased chlorophyll a (۳۳%), chlorophyll b (۵۸%), carotenoids (۱۱%), soluble sugars (۴۹%), proteins (۱۴%), and catalase enzyme activity (۴۲%), compared to control plants. Foliar spraying of plants had no effect on the amount of malondialdehyde, total antioxidant activity based on the FRAP method, and the proline content. Silicon, nanosilicon, chitosan, nanochitosan and nanochitosan-nanosilicon treatments increased the amounts of phenols, flavonoids and anthocyanins in the petals and leaves of plants. An increase of ۲۲ and ۲۰% phenol, ۵۷ and ۵۲% flavonoids, and ۱۰ and ۱۳% anthocyanins was observed in petals and leaves, respectively, under nanochitosan-nanosilica treatment. Based on the reduction of hydrogen peroxide and the absence of peroxidation of membrane lipids, it can be concluded that the treatments improved the growth and flowering process of narcissus due to an improvement in the physiological performance of plants without causing stress, and the most effective treatment was foliar spraying with nanochitosan-nanosilicon.

Keywords:

Antioxidants , Flowering process , Membrane lipids peroxidation , Morphological characteristics , non-photosynthetic pigments , Photosynthetic pigments , آنتی اکسیدان ها , پراکسیداسیون لیپیدهای غشاء , شاخص های مورفولوژیکی , فرایند گلدهی , رنگیزه های فتوسنتزی , رنگیزه های غیرفتوسنتزی