Seed Priming with Nanoparticles: An Emerging Technique for Improving Plant Growth, Development, and Abiotic Stress Tolerance

Crop production is continuously threatened by various environmental stresses. Modern and efficient tactics are required to boost agricultural output beyond facing stresses. Recently, many studies reported that nanotechnology can enhance plant growth and development under stress and non-stress conditions, contributing to agricultural sustainability. Seed priming with nanoparticles (NPs) is a modern and effective approach that increases germination, plant growth progression, productivity, and postharvest physiology of plants by regulating morphological and physio-biochemical characteristics. Different plant studies showed that seed priming with NPs enhances germination, improves nutrient uptake, regulates antioxidant defense, and reduces oxidative damage under stress and non-stress conditions. Recently, several reviews on the regulatory role of nanotechnology on plant growth progressions have been published. However, the regulatory roles of nano-seed priming have not been reviewed adequately and systematically. The present review assembles the current literature on nano-priming and discusses the potentiality of nano-priming in the growth progression of plants under stress and normal conditions and future directions for sustainable agriculture.