Zinc and Molybdenum Interventions for Drought Stress Tolerance in Crops

Zinc and molybdenum are essential micronutrients that play vital roles in plant physiology and stress resilience. Under drought conditions, zinc contributes to membrane integrity, osmotic adjustment and antioxidant defence by modulating enzyme activities, stomatal regulation and synthesis of osmolytes. Molybdenum serves as a cofactor in key enzymatic processes, notably nitrate reductase and abscisic acid biosynthesis, thereby enhancing nitrogen assimilation and hormonal signalling under water limitation. Interventions in the form of soil amendments, foliar sprays or nanoparticle formulations have been shown to improve water-use efficiency, maintain photosynthetic capacity and increase yield stability across diverse crops. The integration of zinc and molybdenum nutrition into agronomic practices offers a scalable approach to mitigate the impacts of increasing drought frequency, with implications for food security and sustainable crop production worldwide.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Recent studies have demonstrated that foliar application of zinc at concentrations up to 500 ppm significantly alleviates water deficit in bread wheat. When applied under field conditions with half-field water capacity, zinc treatments enhanced shoot and flag leaf biomass, chlorophyll and carotenoid content, relative water content and membrane stability. High zinc levels also promoted nutrient uptake and boosted grain yield, protein content and gluten quality under both irrigated and drought regimes. These findings underscore the potential of targeted zinc sprays to stabilise cereal production under water-limited conditions.

Zinc and Molybdenum Interventions for Drought Stress Tolerance in Crops publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in zinc and molybdenum interventions for drought stress tolerance in crops across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Foliar application: The direct spraying of a substance onto plant leaves to deliver nutrients or treatments.
Osmolyte: A small organic molecule that accumulates in cells to maintain osmotic balance under stress.
Stomatal conductance: The rate at which gases pass through stomata, influencing transpiration and photosynthesis.
Nitrate reductase: A key enzyme that reduces nitrate to nitrite in the nitrogen assimilation pathway.
Reactive oxygen species: Highly reactive molecules produced under stress that can damage cellular components.

References

1. Characterizing stomatal attributes and photosynthetic induction in relation to biochemical changes in Coriandrum sativum L. by foliar-applied zinc oxide nanoparticles under drought conditions. Frontiers in Plant Science (2023).
2. Influence of zinc foliar spray on growth, some important physiological processes, yield and yield attributes of bread wheat under water stress. Scientific Reports (2025).
3. The Critical Role of Zinc in Plants Facing the Drought Stress. Agriculture (2020).