Selenium Nanoparticles Improve Physiological and Phytochemical Properties of Basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) under Drought Stress Conditions
Drought impacts on food security, land degradation and rates of biodiversity loss. Here, we aimed to investigate selenium nanoparticles (Se NPs) influenced plant resilience to drought using the morphological, physiological, and essential oil (EO) quantity and quality of basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) as drought proxies. Treatments included irrigation at 100% field capacity (FC100) as no stress, 80% FC as moderate water stress (FC80) and 60% FC as severe water stress (FC60), together with application of Se NPs at either 0 mg L−1 (control), 50 mg L−1, or 100 mg L−1.