Salinity stress significantly affects rice production worldwide. Therefore, this study investigated the potential of bacterial-mediated synthesized iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs) to mitigate salinity stress in rice. IONPs were characterized using DLS, UV-Vis spectroscopy, SEM, EDX, FTIR, and XRD and revealed 30-40 nm particles with cubic and spherical morphologies. Greenhouse studies showed enhanced growth parameters in IONP-treated plants under both normal and salt stress conditions. Treatment with 100 ppm IONPs under salinity stress resulted in enhanced shoot length (278.6%), root length (122.9%), and wet weight (180.0%) compared to the control plants. Similarly, post-harvest analysis revealed that IONPs improved chlorophyll content (206.8%), reduced proline accumulation (43.9-56% decrease), and modulated superoxide dismutase activity (9.2-22.6% decrease) compared to the control plants. Furthermore, IONPs enhanced soil dehydrogenase activity (185.5-479.5%) under salt stress, which indicated improved soil microbial activity. In addition, treatment with IONPs significantly reduced the accumulation of Na+ (58.49%) and Cl- (35.5%) ions in rice plants and enhanced the availability of soil nitrogen and phosphorus compared with the salt-stressed control. KEGG pathway analysis suggested that these effects might be mediated by the modulation of peroxisomal functions. This study demonstrated the potential of IONPs as a promising tool for enhancing rice crop performance under saline conditions with implications for sustainable agriculture in salt-affected areas.

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