Silica-Based Nanomaterials Enhance Zingiber officinale Growth: A Comprehensive Study from Seedling to Harvest

Ginger possesses both significant edible and medicinal value. Sprouting of ginger is a critical phase that influences the yield and quality of the crop. While silica nanoparticles (SiNPs) are known to promote the growth of ginger, their impact on sprouting remains unclear. The results show that sprouting 100 mg L−1 SiNPs (SiNP100) significantly improved ginger sprouting rate and respiratory intensity while reducing weight loss. It also elevated fructose, sucrose, and glucose contents, as well as sucrose phosphate synthase (SPS), sucrose synthase (SS), neutral invertase (NI), acid invertase (AI) activities, indicating that SiNP100 is associated with enhanced sprouting by modulating sugar metabolism. Concurrently, starch content decreased and α- and β-amylase activities increased. Hormonal profiling showed that SiNP100 increased auxin (IAA), trans-zeatin (TZR), isoamylalkenyladenin (IP), and gibberellic acid (GA3) levels, while decreasing abscisic acid (ABA), further supporting its role in promoting sprouting. RNA-seq and RT-qPCR validated that SiNP100 significantly enriched the plant hormone signal transduction and starch and sucrose metabolism pathways, upregulating genes related to sugar transport and metabolism (ZoSweet7, ZoSSIVa, ZoSPS1, and ZoSUS5). Field trials over two consecutive years confirmed that SiNP100 application improved ginger growth, photosynthesis, antioxidant capacity, and ultimately yield and quality. This study demonstrated the potential of SiNPs to improve seed sprouting and promote ginger growth under field conditions.