UNRAVELING THE MECHANISMS OF SILICON NANOPARTICLES FOR PEANUT PLANTS TOLERANCE TO POTASSIUM DEFICIENCY

• Grant number: 24/18537-5
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: March 01, 2025
• End date: February 28, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Agronomy - Crop Science
• Principal Investigator: Renato de Mello Prado
• Grantee: Marcelo Henrique Alves Netto
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias (FCAV). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Jaboticabal. Jaboticabal , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Research on plant nutrition, especially in peanut crops, is very limited, inconsistent with the growing importance of this oilseed in recent years. It is widely believed by farmers that peanuts are hardy species that are tolerant to challenging nutritional environments. It is possible that silicon absorbed by peanuts may be favoring the crop's tolerance to environments with nutritional deficiencies such as potassium, but this needs to be rigorously investigated further. Silicon nanoparticles (nSi) are a promising source of the element ideal for studying its benefits for peanuts grown under potassium restriction, but the nutritional, physiological and biochemical mechanisms involved need to be understood. We hypothesize that (i) one of the causes that K deficiency is limiting for peanuts is related to the modification of C:N:P homeostasis aggravated by oxidative stress, causing a decrease in photosynthetic efficiency; (ii) the use of nSi can mitigate oxidative stress and restore C:N:P balance in potassium-deficient plants, preserving photosynthetic pigments; (iii) it is believed that the benefits of nSi are greater in plants stressed with K deficiency compared to plants with sufficient K without stress. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of using nSi in regulating C:N:P homeostasis and reducing oxidative stress in peanuts, strengthening antioxidant defense and optimizing the photosynthetic apparatus under K deficiency and sufficiency conditions. For this purpose, an experiment will be carried out under controlled conditions and in a double factorial design with two K conditions (sufficiency and deficiency) and two Si conditions (absence and presence) in five replicates arranged in a completely randomized design. The extravasation index of cellular electrolytes, malondialdehyde, hydrogen peroxide, antioxidant compounds, chlorophyll A fluorescence, photosynthetic pigments, free amino acids and soluble sugars, accumulation of Si, K, C, N and P, efficiency of use, absorption and translocation of nutrients and stoichiometry of C, N, P will be evaluated. Innovative information is expected that can track the underlying benefits of using nSi in increasing peanut tolerance to potassium deficiency.