The combination of nitric oxide (NO) donors with nanomaterials for agricultural purposes is a promising approach. The encapsulation of NO donors emerged as a strategy for protecting these molecules from rapid degradation, besides allowing more controlled release. This study aimed to test the hypothesis that encapsulated NO donors attenuate oxidative stress and then enhance physiological recovery of sugarcane plants after water deficit. Well-hydrated sugarcane plants (control) were compared to plants subjected to water deficit and previously sprayed with water (WD) or encapsulated NO donors (100 μM): S-nitroso-mercaptosuccinic acid (SN-MSA); S-nitrosoglutathione (GSNO); S-nitroso-N-acetylcysteine (SNAC); or sodium nitroprusside (SNP). Our data indicated that SNAC spraying partially attenuated the negative impact of WD on the photosynthetic rate, maintained water use efficiency similar to control plants, and promoted growth under stressful conditions. In addition, spraying of encapsulated SNAC and GSNO improved sugarcane photosynthesis during the recovery period. Contrarily, SNP spraying was not effective in mitigating water deficit effects on sugarcane plants, which presented oxidative damage after rehydration. Overall, leaf spraying with SNAC or GSNO is an alternative to improve the physiological performance of sugarcane plants after water deficit, which would favor plant growth and crop yield due to a rapid recovery of photosynthesis.

将一氧化氮 (NO) 供体与用于农业目的的纳米材料相结合是一种很有前景的方法。除了允许更多的受控释放之外，NO供体的封装作为保护这些分子免于快速降解的策略而出现。本研究旨在检验封装的 NO 供体减弱氧化应激，然后增强缺水后甘蔗植物的生理恢复的假设。将水合良好的甘蔗植物（对照）与缺水且先前喷水（WD）或封装的 NO 供体（100 μM）的植物进行比较：S-亚硝基-巯基琥珀酸（SN-MSA）；S-亚硝基谷胱甘肽 (GSNO); S-亚硝基-N-乙酰半胱氨酸（SNAC）；或硝普钠 (SNP)。我们的数据表明，SNAC 喷洒部分减弱了 WD 对光合速率的负面影响，保持了与对照植物相似的水分利用效率，并促进了胁迫条件下的生长。此外，在恢复期喷洒封装的 SNAC 和 GSNO 可改善甘蔗的光合作用。相反，SNP 喷洒不能有效减轻对甘蔗植株的水分亏缺效应，甘蔗植株在复水后会出现氧化损伤。总体而言，叶面喷洒 SNAC 或 GS​​NO 是改善缺水后甘蔗植物生理性能的替代方法，由于光合作用的快速恢复，这将有利于植物生长和作物产量。