Nanotechnology has emerged as one of the most promising tools for the present revolution in the field of agri-food sector. Engineered nano materials (ENMs) are a part of nanotechnology which has led to the invention of smart and active materials such as nanosensors, nanofertilizers, nanopesticides, etc. Bioinspired and biosynthesis approach for the synthesis of nanomaterials using various eco-friendly green chemistry methods has overcome the various problem associated with the use of toxic chemicals and harsh reaction conditions. Thus, use of these nanomaterial in this sector has tremendously increased the crop yield and quality thereby reducing the use of toxic crop protecting agents.
TopIntroduction
The present scenario of population rise presumes the world population to reach 9.8 billion in 2050 and 11.2 billion in 2100. (Sekhon, 2014; Marchiol, 2018) Conventional inputs such as land, water, energy, fertilizers and pesticides used in traditional agriculture practices are not able to meet the need of the target. (Marchiol, 2018) Chemical fertilizers used in agriculture provide plants with essential nutrients for optimal growth and productivity, but this method is also not able to fulfill the growing demand of food to feed this increasing population. (Zulfiqar et al., 2019) Furthermore, excess use of chemical fertilizers causes severe environmental related problems including climatic changes, urbanization, accumulation of pesticides, insecticides and fertilizers, water eutrophication, soil quality degradation and pollution. (Yadav, 2017; Zulfiqar et al., 2019)
To meet the increase in demand for food, there is an need to increase approximately 60% of the world agricultural production. Food security can be achieved by following new systems for food, water and energy. Literature search reveals that researchers have emphasized more on use of nanotechnology i.e. towards the development of herbicides, nano-pesticide, nano-fertilizers, insect repellants, or genes that can increase the yield and quality of agricultural products manifold with lower cost, energy and waste. (Servin & White, 2016; Robles-García et al., 2016; Mishra et al., 2019) Some strategies includes the use of precision fertilization, fertigation and use of Nanofertilizer. (Zulfiqar et al., 2019)
Nanotechnology is a newly emerging branch of science that deals with the study of matter (1-100 nm) that has the potential to increase the quality and quantity of agricultural production with the minimum damage of agro ecology. (Manjunatha et al., 2016) Recently, reports have been found which explains the use of nanotechnology in solving various social problems that persists worldwide. (Adisa et al., 2019) Materials in nanometer scale possess specific physical, chemical and biological properties that differs from properties of bulk. Potential application of nanotechnology includes its use in cosmetic industry, catalysis, scientific tools, electronics, biomedical application, food science, agriculture, environmental remediation and many industrial applications. (Adisa et al., 2019; Kumar et al., 2019) In particular, the application of nanotechnology in the plant production systems in plant science is defined with the term “Phytonanotechnology”. Thus, green nanotechnology aims towards the use of biodegradable nanomaterials with reduced effects on the environment or human beings by minimizing the emissions of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrous oxide (N2O) and methane (CH4) from agricultural land into the atmosphere (Sohail et al., 2019). Further, green synthesis approach minimizes the cost and limits the use of hazardous chemicals during the synthesis of nanoparticles. (Chaudhry et al., 2018) Thus, Figure 1 represents the various application of nanotechnology and nanomaterials in food and agriculture sectors.
Figure 1. Application of nanotechnology and nanomaterials in food and agriculture sectors (Kaphle et al., 2018)
For a nanomaterial to be used in agriculture effectively, it must possess the following characteristics (Sohail et al., 2019):
Aim of nanotechnology in the Agriculture (Yadav, 2017):
- a.
Reduces pollution from agrochemicals.
- b.
Improves resistivity to climatic conditions.
- c.
Ability to add valuable nutrients to plants.
- d.
Helps in detection and remediation of heavy metals from soil.
- e.
Increase yields through genetic improvement.