Nano-Inputs: A Next-Generation Solution for Sustainable Crop Production

Abstract

A sustainable agriculture is a challenge for human health. In the agriculture field, the factors like stress created due to the climate change and the newly emerging pathogens, their recognition, and the intensity of damage that they can do are some of the vital challenges in plant disease management worldwide. There is an urgent call for adoption of environmentally friendly biopesticides/biofertilizers to apply to agriculture. In this context, nanomaterials promise to support this transition by promoting mitigation, enhancing productivity, and reducing contamination. Nanotechnology can be used in agriculture to reduce the use of chemicals, decrease nutrient losses, and increase crops’ yield. The nanotechnology can be applied in the form of nanofertilizers and nanopesticides to increase the crops production. Besides, nanosensors act monitoring soil quality of agricultural field and maintaining the health of agricultural plants. Although large-scale production and in-field testing of nano-agrochemicals are still ongoing, the collected information indicates improvements in uptake, use efficiency, targeted delivery of the active ingredients, and reduction of leaching and pollution. In this review we summarize how nanotechnology impacts in agriculture. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.