Exogenously applied silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) differentially affect bacterial blight disease control in twenty-seven wheat cultivars

Abstract The bacterial blight of wheat is an important global disease causing a significant decline in crop yield. Nanotechnology offers a potential solution for managing plant diseases. Therefore, this research aimed to investigate the effectiveness of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) in controlling bacterial blight in 27 locally grown wheat cultivars. The study examined the impact of AgNPs at three distinct time points: 1, 3, and 5 days after the onset of the disease. Biochemical assay revealed that one day after applying the disease stress, the Inia cultivar had the highest amount of soluble protein (55.60 μg.g−1FW) content in the treatment without AgNPs. The Azadi cultivar, without AgNPs treatment, had the lowest amount of soluble protein content (15.71 μg.g−1FW). The Tabasi cultivar had the highest activity of the superoxide dismutase (SOD) (61.62 mM.g−1FW) with the combination treatment of AgNPs. On the other hand, the Karchia cultivar had the lowest SOD activity (0.6 mM.g−1FW) in the treatment of disease without AgNPs. Furthermore, three days after the application of stress, the Mahdavi cultivar had the highest amount of soluble protein content (54.16 μg.g−1FW) in the treatment of disease without AgNPs. The Niknejad cultivar had the highest activity of the SOD (74.15 mM.g−1FW) with the combined treatment of the disease without AgNPs. The Kavir cultivar had the lowest SOD activity (1.95 mM.g−1FW) and the lowest peroxidase (POX) activity (0.241 mM g−1FW min−1) in the treatment of the disease with AgNPs. Five days after exposure to stress, the Mahooti cultivar had the highest SOD activity (88.12 mM.g−1FW) with the combined treatment of the disease with AgNPs, and the Karchia cultivar had the lowest SOD activity (2.39 mM.g−1FW) in the treatment of the disease with AgNPs. Further, the results indicated that exposure to AgNPs could improve the antioxidant properties of wheat seeds in blight-infected and disease-free conditions in some cultivars.