Morphological, Biochemical and Nutritional Responses of Potato (Solanum tuberosum L. cv. Agria) to SiO2 Nanoparticles under Alkalinity Stress Conditions

Morphological, Biochemical and Nutritional Responses of Potato (Solanum tuberosum L. cv. Agria) to SiO2 Nanoparticles under Alkalinity Stress Conditions | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Morphological, Biochemical and Nutritional Responses of Potato (Solanum tuberosum L. cv. Agria) to SiO2 Nanoparticles under Alkalinity Stress Conditions Mahdi Bikdeloo, Fahimeh Feizi, Hamid Reza Roosta This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8941525/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 4 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Considering the destructive effects of alkalinity stress on plants and the important role of silicon in stress alleviation, this study investigated the effects of foliar-applied silicon dioxide nanoparticles (SiO₂-NPs) at 0, 2, and 4 mM, under alkalinity stress induced by NaHCO₃ at 0, 5, 15, and 30 mM, on hydroponically grown potato ( Solanum tuberosum L. cv. Agria). Under non-stress conditions, SiO₂-NPs, particularly at 4 mM (N4), significantly enhanced plant growth, increasing plant length (8.5%), dry weight (15.3%) and root biomass (up to 38.6%) compared to the control (N0). Alkalinity stress alone exhibited a dose-dependent detrimental effect, severely suppressing growth parameters by up to 65% at 30 mM NaHCO₃. Importantly, SiO₂ nanoparticles significantly interacted with stress and provided a strong protective effect. This protective role extended to mini-tuber yield, where N4 maintained higher productivity under moderate and severe stress. Biochemically, SiO₂-NPs enhanced the antioxidant defense system, elevating carotenoids, total phenolics and flavonoids. Nanoparticles also preserved chlorophyll content and significantly reduced the depletion of mineral ions under stress conditions. The 4 mM SiO₂-NP treatment reduced the severe loss of key nutrients and retained magnesium (21.0%), iron (31.6%), potassium (33.2%) and calcium (42.6%) compared to the untreated control under high alkalinity conditions. The results demonstrate that foliar application of SiO₂-NPs, especially at 4 mM, increases alkalinity tolerance in potato plants by improving growth, antioxidant activity and nutrient uptake. Also, 5 mM NaHCO₃ acted as a beneficial root carbon source and showed a slight increase in some parameters compared to non-stress conditions. These results provide a suitable strategy for sustainable seed potato production in soilless systems with alkaline water. SiO₂-NPs Alkalinity stress Potato Hydroponics Nutrient uptake Full Text Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Reviewers agreed at journal 28 Feb, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 25 Feb, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 25 Feb, 2026 First submitted to journal 24 Feb, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8941525","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":596792412,"identity":"1d0282ff-d04b-4907-ab44-525c75412aee","order_by":0,"name":"Mahdi Bikdeloo","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA/klEQVRIiWNgGAWjYFACHgaJBIYDPAwMCYwHGCqAAszMDURrYTjAcAakhZEILQxAxWAtjG0gEQJadNvPHrzxgOGOjLx78oEDH+fVRvO3A7X8qNiGU4vZmbxkiwSGZzyGZ54lHJy57XjujMOMDYw9Z27j1nIgxwzol8M8hjNyDA7zbjuW2wDUwszYhkfL+TcwLfkfDvPOOZY7n6CWG1Bb5CVyGA7zNtTkbiCs5Y2xRYLBMx4DnmcGB2ccO5C7EajlIF6/nM8xvPmj4o69fHvywwcfaupy550/fPDBjwrcWiDAAIgOgFmHweQBAuohQL4BTNURpXgUjIJRMApGFgAAxjhkT6/fxrsAAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3048-1066","institution":"Arak University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Mahdi","middleName":"","lastName":"Bikdeloo","suffix":""},{"id":596792413,"identity":"75621356-6892-47a2-8fa6-2c0f5e97051e","order_by":1,"name":"Fahimeh Feizi","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Arak University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Fahimeh","middleName":"","lastName":"Feizi","suffix":""},{"id":596792414,"identity":"2932598b-87ac-4348-a081-a3503a6ad035","order_by":2,"name":"Hamid Reza Roosta","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Arak University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Hamid","middleName":"Reza","lastName":"Roosta","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-02-22 21:23:54","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8941525/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8941525/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":104398020,"identity":"d38f88e1-3e99-4cac-8965-46db4322130a","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-03-11 11:59:23","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":848042,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8941525/v1_covered_ce59945c-c148-4d26-b053-0bd305b92e97.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"","formattedTitle":"Morphological, Biochemical and Nutritional Responses of Potato (Solanum tuberosum L. cv. 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