The present study explored the effectiveness of SiO₂ nanoparticles (NPs) as seed priming agent (15 mg L^–1) to improve drought tolerance in the wheat cultivar HI 1544. Seed germination studies showed significant enhancement in the rate of seed germination, seedling growth and vigour, seed water uptake, and amylase activity in nanoprimed (NP) seeds compared with unprimed (UP) seeds. Pot experiments using wheat plants subjected to drought stress showed that SiO₂ nanopriming enhanced the ability of wheat plants to withstand water deficit conditions by balancing the production of reactive oxygen species and the activity of enzymatic antioxidants like peroxidase, catalase, and superoxide dismutase. Investigations of photosynthetic parameters showed that under drought conditions, nanoprimed plants had a higher number of active reaction centres, high absorbance, trapping, and electron transport rates compared with unprimed plants. These results suggest the effects of silicon nanopriming in enhancing drought tolerance in wheat by alleviating drought induced inhibition of plant photosynthetic machinery and maintaining biochemical balance, ultimately resulting in an increase in biomass production. Results revealed the use of silicon oxide nanopriming to be a good option to increase drought tolerance in wheat plants.

本研究探讨了 SiO ₂纳米粒子 (NPs) 作为种子引发剂 (15 mg L ^–1 ) 提高小麦品种 HI 1544 的耐旱性的有效性。种子萌发研究表明种子萌发率、幼苗生长速度显着提高与未引物 (UP) 种子相比，纳米引物 (NP) 种子的活力、种子吸水量和淀粉酶活性。使用遭受干旱胁迫的小麦植物的盆栽试验表明，SiO ₂纳米引发通过平衡活性氧的产生和酶促抗氧化剂（如过氧化物酶、过氧化氢酶和超氧化物歧化酶）的活性，增强了小麦植物抵抗缺水条件的能力。光合参数的研究表明，在干旱条件下，纳米引发的植物与未引发的植物相比，具有更多的活性反应中心、高吸光度、捕获和电子传递率。这些结果表明，硅纳米引发剂通过减轻干旱诱导的植物光合机制抑制和维持生化平衡，增强小麦的耐旱性，最终导致生物质产量增加。