Enhancing crop resilience to water stress through iron nanoparticles: A critical review of applications and implications

作者：Tajwar Alam, Sanaullah Jalil, Ghulam Jilani, Arshad Nawaz Chaudhry, Zia Ul Haq, Iram Naz, Abbas Khan, Xinghong Yang, Marián Brestič, Skalický Milan, Ayman El Sabagh · 发表于：Plant Stress · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1016/j.stress.2025.100905 · 被引用次数：13 · 研究领域：Nanoparticles: synthesis and applications、Plant Stress Responses and Tolerance

Among the abiotic stresses, water stress is a key factor that limits agricultural productivity worldwide by reducing crop yield through numerous biochemical and physiological disruptions. The use of nanomaterials in commercially available products is rapidly expanding, with significant applications in agriculture and phytoremediation. Current advancements in nanotechnology have introduced iron nanoparticles (Fe-NPs) as a promising approach to enhance crop resilience against stress conditions. Iron (Fe) plays a critical role in photosynthesis, enzyme activation, chlorophyll synthesis, and oxidative stress management, which are pivotal to plant response against water stress. Due to high surface area, small size, and controlled reactivity, Fe-NPs exhibit exceptional advantages over traditional Fe sources, viz., improved bioavailability and nutrient uptake. The current review explores Fe-NP's potential to mitigate the adverse effects of water stress in crop plants by activating various beneficial mechanisms, including improvement in antioxidant defence, osmotic adjustment, and modulating stress related to phytohormones. Particularly, Fe-NPs improve water use efficiency (WUE) and root development, facilitating water and nutrient uptake under stress conditions. Moreover, Fe-NPs assist in antioxidant enzyme regulation, which reduces the accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), thereby reducing oxidative damage and sustaining the metabolic activities of plants under limited wat...