The applications of ZnO nanoparticles in agriculture have largely contributed to crop growth regulation, quality enhancement, and induction of stress tolerance, while the underlying mechanisms remain elusive. Herein, the involvement of melatonin synthesis and metabolism in the process of nano-ZnO induced drought tolerance was investigated in maize. Drought stress resulted in the changes of subcellular ultrastructure, the accumulation of malondialdehyde and osmolytes in leaf. The nano-ZnO (100 mg L⁻¹) application promoted the melatonin synthesis and activated the antioxidant enzyme system, which alleviated drought-induced damage to mitochondria and chloroplast. These changes were associated with upregulation of the relative transcript abundance of Fe/Mn SOD, Cu/Zn SOD, APX, CAT, TDC, SNAT, COMT, and ASMT induced by nano-ZnO application. It was suggested that modifications in endogenous melatonin synthesis were involved in the nano-ZnO induced drought tolerance in maize.

The release of nanoparticles into the environment is inevitable, which has raised global environmental concern. Melatonin is involved in various stress responses in plants. The present study investigated the effects of melatonin on photosynthetic carbon (C) assimilation and plant growth in nano-ZnO stressed plants. It was found that melatonin improved the photosynthetic C assimilation in nano-ZnO stressed wheat plants, mainly due to the enhanced photosynthetic energy transport efficiency, higher chlorophyll concentration and higher activities of Rubisco and ATPases. In addition, melatonin enhanced the activities of antioxidant enzymes to protect the photosynthetic electron transport system in wheat leaves against the oxidative burst caused by nano-ZnO stress. These results suggest that melatonin could improve the tolerance of wheat plants to nano-ZnO stress.

Cold priming can alleviate the effects of subsequent cold stress on wheat plant growth. Melatonin plays a key role in cold stress response in plants. In this study, the effects of foliar melatonin application during recovery on the cold tolerance of cold primed wheat plants were investigated. It was found that both melatonin and cold priming increased the photosynthetic rate and stomatal conductance, enhanced the activities of antioxidant enzymes, and altered the related gene expressions in wheat under cold stress. Melatonin application is helpful for the photosynthetic carbon assimilation and membrane stability of the cold primed plants under cold stress. These results suggested that foliar melatonin application during recovery enhanced the cold priming induced tolerance to subsequent low temperature stress in wheat.

The rhizospheric melatonin application-induced drought tolerance has been illuminated in various plant species, while the roles of the rhizosphere microbial community in this process are still unclear. Here, the diversity and functions of the rhizosphere microbial community and related physiological parameters were tested in barley under the rhizospheric melatonin application and drought. Exogenous melatonin improved plant performance under drought via increasing the activities of non-structural carbohydrate metabolism enzymes and activating the antioxidant enzyme systems in barley roots under drought. The 16S/ITS rRNA gene sequencing revealed that drought and melatonin altered the compositions of the microbiome. Exogenous melatonin increased the relative abundance of the bacterial community in carbohydrate and carboxylate degradation, while decreasing the relative abundance in the pathways of fatty acid and lipid degradation and inorganic nutrient metabolism under drought. These results suggest that the effects of melatonin on rhizosphere microbes and nutrient condition need to be considered in its application for crop drought-resistant cultivation.

Root lodging (RL) in maize can reduce yield and grain quality. A wide–narrow row planting pattern can increase maize yield in the growing regions of northeastern China, but whether it can improve RL resistance is not clear. Therefore, in this study, the root architecture distribution, root physiological activity, and root lodging rate under planting pattern 1 (uniform ridge of 65 cm, east–west ridge direction) and pattern 2 (wide–narrow rows, 40 double narrow rows and 90 wide rows, north–south ridge direction) were studied. The results showed that the RL rate under pattern 2 was significantly lower than that under pattern 1. The number and diameter of nodal roots on the upper node, the root failure moment, and the root bleeding sap intensity at the 3 weeks after VT under pattern 2 were significantly higher than those under pattern 1. Root length density in the 0–40 cm soil layer tended to be inter-row distributed. Therefore, the RL resistance of maize under pattern 2 was increased through an adjustment in the root architecture distribution and root physiological activity in northeastern China.