NanoImpact 19 (2020) 100232

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NanoImpact
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/nanoimpact

Review article

Agriculture nanotechnology: Translating research outcome to field T

applications by influencing environmental sustainability
⁎ ⁎⁎
Amitabha Acharyaa,c, , Probir Kumar Palb,c,
a
Biotechnology Division, CSIR-Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology, Palampur, H.P. 176061, India
b
Agrotechnology of Medicinal, Aromatic and Commercially Important Plants Division, CSIR-Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology, Palampur, H.P. 176061, India
c
Academy of Scientific & Innovative Research (AcSIR), CSIR-Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology, Palampur, H.P. 176061, India

A R T I C LE I N FO A B S T R A C T

Keywords: Amongst many projected applications, nanotechnology has the ability to revolutionize agro-food sector. With the
Agriculture nanotechnology current global population reaching close to 7 billion, many developing countries are facing the problem of food
Nano-fertilizers shortages. Agriculture nanotechnology, with its possible applications in providing ranging from better food
Nano-pesticides quality to minimization of agriculture inputs, can significantly enhance crop productivity. Nanotechnology can
Delivery agents
contribute to agro-food sector with novel tools viz., disease diagnosis and management, nanocide-pesticide
Environmental issues
delivery including green pesticides and biopesticides, slow and sustained release of micro-nutrients and ferti-
lizers etc. Nanobiotechnology is expected to offer critical biological aspects of various crops; which inevitably
will enhance the corresponding nutritional values. Further, these ideas will also help in meeting the food security
and of environmental challenges. However, before implementation, these products need to be thoroughly
evaluated for any toxicity concerns. Unfortunately, research outcomes of this field are mostly restricted to the lab
and the concerned rules and regulations are also not well documented. To add to this, due to high initial pro-
duction investments, industry experts are reluctant to invest significantly in this field. Thus, concentrated efforts
from all directions are required to meet these global challenges. The present review will be covering all these
aspects related to agriculture nanotechnology by citing specific examples from the existing recent literature
reports and will also comment on the future prospects of this area.

1. Introduction
Agriculture practices have been largely contributed to the ecological
success of humans (Smith, 1995) and > 60% of the world's populations
are still dependent on agriculture for their livelihood (FAO, 2013).
Presently, the agricultural sector is facing wide spectrum of local as well
as global challenges viz., climate change, low productivity, declining
soil organic matter, low nutrient-use-efficiency, deficiency of both
macro and micro nutrients, reduction in agriculture lands and water
availability, issues related to environment such as increase of pesticides
residues and shortage of skilled labour besides lack of interest amongst
farmers for cultivation. These constraints are further exacerbated by the
growing food demand at the rate of 4%, which is required to endure
world population of 9 billion by 2050 (Chen and Yada, 2011). Since the
inception, nanotechnology has significantly contributed the health care
and pharmaceutics, textile, materials, information technology and
renewable energy sectors, due to its potential to make most products
more efficient. Unfortunately, the push for the use of nanotechnology in
agro-food sector came lately with the reports published by Roco (1999),
the United States Department of Agriculture (Rutzke, 2003), the Na-
noforum (Joseph and Morrison, 2006) and Kuzma and Verhage (2006)
along with related other publications. The major contribution of na-
notechnology in agriculture sector can be broadly classified into, (a)
delivery of nanocide-pesticide, (b) stabilization of green pesticides and
biopesticides using nanomaterials (NMs), (c) slow and controlled re-
lease of NMs assisted micronutrients, fertilizers and biofertilizers, (d)
NMs assisted transport of genetic materials for crop development, (e)
nanobiosensors for rapid and selective plant pathogen and pesticide
detection etc. (Salamanca-Buentello et al., 2005; Subramanian and
Tarafdar, 2011). The current research interest of nanotechnology in the
area of agriculture is majorly focused towards green production of NMs
for their agricultural use, slow and sustained delivery of nutrients from

⁎
Correspondence to: A. Acharya, Biotechnology Division, CSIR-Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology, Palampur, H.P. 176061, India.
⁎⁎
Correspondence to: P. Kumar Pal, Agrotechnology of Medicinal, Aromatic and Commercially Important Plants Division, CSIR-Institute of Himalayan Bioresource
Technology, Palampur, H.P. 176061, India.
E-mail addresses: amitabha@ihbt.res.in (A. Acharya), palpk@ihbt.res.in (P.K. Pal).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.impact.2020.100232
Received 19 March 2020; Received in revised form 1 May 2020; Accepted 3 June 2020
Available online 08 June 2020
2452-0748/ © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
A. Acharya and P.K. Pal
nano-fertilizers and active ingredients from nano-encapsulated herbi-
cides/pesticides, polysaccharide nano-powders for soil moisture reten-
tion and aggregation, nano-seed invigoration, increase in the mean life
of perishables using nano-films and nano-remediation of soil and
aquatic pollutants. Despite being such wide-range and cutting edge
research areas, examples of available commercial products in the
market are few and needs urgent attention. However, it is expected that
the agriculture sector will encounter a drastic change owing to the
large-scale applications of nanotechnologies in the coming era. As we
know that “Technology-Yes, but Safety-Must”, hence before im-
plementing these new technologies, we should also the possible risks
associated with these nanoparticles (NPs). Thus, it is indeed important
to inform the general public at large about the advantages of this new
technology.
The present review is written at an introductory as well as appli-
cation level to allow the readers to have a comprehensive knowledge
and firm hold on the principles of agriculture nanotechnology which
will be followed by a detailed discussion on the mainstream applica-
tions. The first part of the article covers a brief introduction of nano-
technology followed by the definition of agriculture nanotechnology.
Applications and comparative advantage of nanotechnology in seed
science, nano-fertilizers, nano-herbicides and pesticides, delivery
agents for genetic materials and growth promoting hormones, bio-
sensors to detect nutrients, contaminants and pathogens etc. along with
environmental toxicology concerns have also been discussed. Finally, a
critical review has been done on the existing policies related to the
subject.
2. Limitations and harmful effects of conventional farming
Current farming habits related to the Green Revolution have con-
tributed immensely to the universal food supply. Green revolution also
had put unintentional, harmful effect on the surroundings and on
ecosystem services; this stressed the necessity for the invention of more
scientific farming practices. Due to poor awareness amongst general
farmers, non-judicial application of fertilizers and pesticides has in-
creased markedly in the field which inevitably increased the toxic
agrichemicals in both ground and surface water. This situation has
enhanced the cost for health and water purification, and simultaneously
decreased aquatic life viability. Further, agricultural habits, which de-
grade the quality of the soil has contributed significantly for eu-
trophication and in turn it increases the overall expense. The increased
amount of pesticides also kills beneficial insects, microorganism and
other wildlife. To add to this, groundwater levels are declining in areas
where the agriculture practices require lifting of more ground water for
irrigation. All these have contributed to degradation of ecosystems
which have become a grave concern for civilization. Collectively tra-
ditional agricultural systems contributed to the damage of environment
(Foley et al., 2011). Thus, the main focus in the farming and allied
sectors are to feed the world population with sustainable resource use
(Lobell et al., 2008; Foley et al., 2011; Tilman et al., 2011; Godfray and
Garnett, 2014).
3. Nanoscale carriers for agricultural applications
Nanotechnology (the prefix ‘nano’ means “dwarf” in Greek, 10−9 m)
is a collective definition referring to every technology and science
which operates at nanoscale. Nanotechnology, with its atomic precision
has the ability to build smart materials, devices, and systems. A general
definition of nanotechnology has been coined by US National Science
and Technology Council, which states: “The essence of nanotechnology
is the ability to work at the molecular level, atom by atom, to create
large structures with fundamentally new molecular organization. The
aim is to exploit these properties by gaining control of structures and
devices at atomic, molecular, and supramolecular levels and to learn to
efficiently manufacture and use these devices.” (Available from:
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NanoImpact 19 (2020) 100232
Nanotechnology Research Directions: IWGN Workshop Report –“Vision
for Nanotechnology R&D in the Next Decade”, September 1999).The
definition of nanotechnology by United States National Science
Foundation broadly categorize as: (i) particle dimension: having at least
one dimension (in either X, Y or Z direction) should be between 1 and
100 nm, (ii) preparation process: the synthesis of nanomaterials by
either physical or chemical method should have fundamental control at
the molecular-scale structures, (iii) building block property: step-by-
step process of nanomaterial arrangement should lead to larger struc-
tures. The synergy between nanoscience and biology was quite obvious
since a large number of biomolecules fall in this diameter range.
Nanomaterials have been widely used in different biological applica-
tions viz., for imaging, as delivery agents, for tissue engineering, for
detection of pathogens, for pesticide sensing and proteins, for probing
DNA structure, tumour destruction via heating (hyperthermia treat-
ment), for analytical quantification of biological molecules and cells, as
MRI contrast enhancement agents etc. Nanoparticles have small size
and high surface area to volume ratio which make them suitable for the
use in various fields. Recent developments suggested that this new
technology can also play significant role in agro-food sectors. This
section will brief about the different nanomaterials which are being
commonly used for this purpose (Fig. 1).
3.1. Polymeric nanoparticles
These are colloidal sub-micron (1 to 1000 nm) particles containing
encapsulated or adsorbed bioactives on to the macromolecular sub-
stances. In agriculture nanotechnology, these delivery agents are used
for the delivery of agrochemicals in slow and sustained way to control
the pests to enhance the crop yield. The many advantages of these
polymers as carriers for agrochemicals are; (i) their easy availability
and superior biocompatibility, (ii) enhanced targeting ability which
reduces impact on non-target organisms, (iii) shielding of active in-
gredients from the external environment, (iv) high solubility under
physiological conditions, (v) controlled release of active ingredients
from the polymeric shell, and (vi) an enhanced efficacy of the active
ingredients. Poly(γ-glutamic acid) (γ-PGA), poly(epsilon-caprolactone)
(PCL), polyethylene glycol (PEG), poly(lactide-co-glycolides) (PLGA),
poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) are some of the polymers which have been
used for the delivery of agrochemicals.
3.2. Silver nanoparticles
These metallic nanoparticles have been used extensively for bio
applications. These NPs are known to have strong anti-bacterial effects
on a broad spectrum of bacteria. Foliar spray of silver NPs are used
effectively to stop fungi, moulds, rot and other plant diseases.
Moreover, it has also been reported that silver NPs works as plant-
growth stimulator, too. Double capsulized colloidal nano silver (1.5 nm
average diameter) solution has been reported to exhibit antifungal ac-
tivity against rose powdery mildew (Kim et al., 2008). The developed
nano silver formulation were found to be stable in aqueous solution.
Further, these NPs have also been used for the elimination of unwanted
microorganisms and other high end techniques such as hydroponics
systems.
3.3. Nano alumino-silicates
Different nanoclay polymer composites have been used for the
control of pathogens in plants. Silica and nano alumino silicate for-
mulations are being already under use as efficient pesticides for agri-
culture practices by leading chemical companies. Active ingredients
containing nano tubes of alumina-silicate showed promising results in
this direction since these are being taken up by the pests very easily.
Again, researchers have demonstrated that mesoporous silica nano-
particles can be used for the delivery of DNA and other chemicals into
A. Acharya and P.K. Pal
Fig. 1. Different nanomaterials used for agriculture nanotechnology and route of applications.
plants.
3.4. Titanium dioxide (TiO2), zinc oxide (ZnO) and copper oxide (CuO)
nanoparticles
Titanium dioxide has been used as a strong disinfectant for water.
The activity has been found to be higher as compared to chlorine and
ozone. TiO2 being biocompatible in nature, this has even been used in
food products. TiO2 has also been used as photocatalyst for different
agricultural applications viz., for plant protection. Due to their unique
physic-chemical and biological properties, ZnO NPs have promising
future in the agriculture productivity. ZnO NPs have boosted both the
productivity and yield of different food crops. Similarly, CuO nano-
particles are widely used in many agricultural applications ranging
from micronutrients for plant growth to being used as pesticides and
herbicides.
3.5. Carbon nanomaterials
Carbon based nanomaterials (carbon dots, graphene, graphene
oxides, single walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs), multi walled carbon
nanotubes (MWCNTs), fullerenes etc. have shown tremendous potential
as effective seed germinating agent. MWCNTs are known to be inter-
nalized in plant roots whereas in vitro studies on tobacco cells sug-
gested that SWCNTs can also effectively cross the cell wall.
3.6. Magnetic nanoparticles
Magnetic-based nanomaterials viz., super paramagnetic iron oxide
nanoparticle (SPIONs) etc. could be utilized for specific targeted de-
livery of agrochemicals to the disease site to avoid unwanted toxicity
concerns. Since the internalization of magnetic nanomaterials can ea-
sily be governed by external magnetic field, it will be easy to deliver
these chemicals to specific areas and also removal of the same after the
job is done.
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NanoImpact 19 (2020) 100232
4. Applications of nanotechnology in agriculture sector
Nanotechnology, with all its recent advancements, is emerging out
as one of the imperative tools in recent agriculture sector. This tech-
nology will be a driving economic force to change the present agri-
culture practices. Novel delivery systems for crop improvement and
productivity have the potential to decrease the use of bulk agrochem-
icals and hence will provide more affordable solution. The application
of nanotechnology in agriculture sector can be broadly classified into
three sectors viz., (a) Precision farming, (b) Crop production and (c)
Crop improvement. The following section will cover all these aspects.
4.1. Precision farming
Precision farming has been conceptualized to maximize crop yield
using minimal inputs of viz., herbicides, fertilizers etc. target specific
action. This highly sophisticated technique takes the advantage of su-
percomputers, global satellite positioning systems and remote sensing
devices to pin point the problems in crops which finally leads to lower
production costs and thus directly benefits the farmers. Precision
farming depends on thorough understanding of field conditions based
on computer processing followed by analysis of data. Such modern
technologies allow the harvesters to measure the amount of different
factors responsible for poor yield of the crop, simultaneously generating
computer models which will guide the user to take fast decisions about
application or timing of inputs. Further precision farming is expected to
reduce the agricultural wastes and thus would be more environmental
friendly compared to conventional farming. Precision farming allows
real-time monitoring of field conditions like soil conditions, soil ferti-
lity, moisture level, temperature, crop growth, status of crop nutrient,
insect attacks, different plant diseases, weeds etc. will have a large
impact on future agriculture sector (Moskvin and Spakovica, 2002; Day,
2005). All these accumulated data will essentially catalyze important
agriculture processes like optimization of plantation time and har-
vesting, water and time management along with other agro-chemical
applications etc. Once nutrient deficiency, moisture shortage, pest is
A. Acharya and P.K. Pal
detected in any location, there would be automatic adjustment of target
and location specific nutrients, water and pesticide applications. In this
direction, Cambridge startup CiBo Technologies, founded in 2014, has
been granted a funding of ~$30.3 million to develop software platform
models which aims to simulate the diverse environmental conditions of
every intricate agricultural ecosystem anywhere in the world. This
platform can create “virtual fields” with real-world inputs, allows the
users to give their feedbacks and suggestions as to how the real fields
should be optimized. This helps the users in boosting their sustain-
ability, reduce waste, improve time to market ratio, and most im-
portantly to utilize the field in the most cost-effective ways (Available
from: https://www.cibotechnologies.com/). Other startups like
Broomfield startup aWhere, Michigan startup Farmobile etc. are also
involved in the area of precision agriculture (Available from: https://
www.nanalyze.com/2018/12/precision-agriculture-examples/). One
example of nanotechnology based precision agriculture involves use of
Normalized Difference in Vegetative Index (NDVI) sensor or green
seeker. This device uses nano-based light emitting diodes to generate
red and near infrared light and correspondingly NDVI values are cal-
culated. This is based on the principle that compared to diseased or
unhealthy plants; chlorophylls of healthy plants absorb more red light
during photosynthesis and reflect larger amounts of near infra-red light.
Based on this difference, NDVI values are calculated. It is known that
excessive uses of agrichemicals can have negative effect on the en-
vironment. Controlled application of chemicals to the selective in-
dividual plants based on requirement is the only way to cut down the
used of agrochemicals. Under this situation, uses of agricultural robots
offer a smart solution to reduce the application of agrochemicals. The
robotic techniques for segmentation into crops and weeds in the field
have been developed by different researchers. This technique enables
plant-specific treatments and selective robotic weeding, which are the
ultimate objective of precision agriculture. A novel technique has been
developed for joint stem detection and crop-weed segmentation using
convolutional neural network (Lottes et al., 2020). This approach
would be effective for plant-specific management like fertilizing a crop
or weeding. Now a large-scale agricultural robot dataset has also been
generated for further development of autonomous systems operating in
agricultural field (Chebrolu et al., 2017, 2018, 2019).
4.2. Nanotechnological intervention to improve the crop productivity
Nanotechnology based applications have the potential to enhance
the crop productivity by allowing better management of plants. The
role of nanotechnology in crop production can be categorized as de-
veloping, (i) nanopesticides/nanoherbicides, (ii) nanofertilizers, (iii)
green synthesized nanoparticles for agricultural use, (iv) nanoparticu-
late based smart delivery systems for micronutrient and plant growth
regulators, (v) feed additives, (vi) biosensors to detect pathogens and
contaminants etc.
4.2.1. Development of nanoherbicides/pesticides for effective weed and pest
control
In the present day most of the available herbicides are pre-
dominantly effective for controlling or killing of above ground part of
the weeds; this unfortunately do not restrict deep ground parts viz.,
rhizome, bulb or tubers, to act as a new source of weeds in the ensuing
season. Through nanotechnological intervention it is possible to im-
prove the efficacy of the herbicides by specifically targeting the re-
ceptors in the roots/ground parts of weeds. These nanoherbicides is
expected to provide new routes to enter and translocate to different
parts of the rhizome and will finally prevent glycolysis of food backup
in the root system (Chinnamuthu and Kokiladevi, 2007). Further, this
methodology will increase the herbicide dose economy of otherwise
chemically toxic agents such as glyphosate or imidazolinones (Pérez-de-
Luque and Rubiales, 2009). Different forms of NMs have been used for
formulating nanoherbicides viz., polymeric nanoparticles, inorganic
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NanoImpact 19 (2020) 100232
nanoparticles, agro industrial waste based nanoparticles etc. Polymeric
nanoparticles in the form of nanocapsules or nanospheres have been
used extensively for encapsulating different chemical herbicides.
Pereira et al. (2014) have synthesized and characterized poly (epsilon-
caprolactone) nanoparticles for herbicide atrazine encapsulation and
evaluated the herbicidal and genotoxic activity of the same. Studies on
targeted Brassica sp. and non-targeted Zea mays organisms suggested
that the nanoherbicide formulation showed strong control of the tar-
geted species. It was further suggested that the use of NPs could ef-
fectively reduce atrazine mobility in the soil. Further, Allium cepa
chromosome aberration assay revealed reduced genotoxicity level for
the herbicide (Pereira et al., 2014). In another study, Grillo et al. (2012)
used the poly(γ-caprolactone) (PCL) nanocapsules for the encapsulation
of three triazine herbicides viz., atrazine, ametryn and simazine to ef-
fectively reduce the environmental toxicity concerns. The encapsula-
tion efficiency was found to be > 84% for all the triazines used having
stability of nearly 270 days. In vitro experiments suggested slow and
sustained release of triazenes from the nanocapsules. Moreover, rela-
tively low genotoxic effect was also observed for the developed nano-
herbicides (Grillo et al., 2012). Paraquat loaded herbicides on Alginate/
Chitosan (Ag/Cs) nanoparticles were developed and characterized by
different spectroscopic and microscopic techniques (dos Santos Silva
et al., 2011). The Ag/Cs NPs documented size distribution of
635 ± 12 nm, with high negative zeta potential value and ~74.2%
association efficiency for paraquat. The results suggested that nano-
composite of Ag/Cs conjugated paraquat with allows slow and sus-
tained release of the herbicide. This also impacts the overall interaction
of the herbicide with the soil. Similarly, chitosan/tripolyphosphate NPs
were used for the encapsulation of paraquat (Grillo et al., 2014). In-
organic NPs such as silica have also been used for nanoherbicide de-
velopment (Rani et al., 2014). In a study, nanosized absorbents rice
husk were isolated from waste and these were used as nanocarrier for
2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid herbicide (2,4-D), which showed high
sorption of 2,4-D with increased activity (Abigail et al., 2016).
Pesticides have generally been referred as the chemical/biological
compositions, which are used to control pests for better quality and
high production of crops. In this respect, chemical pesticides are most
common, though the environmental problem and public health hazards
caused by these have been well established by now. The major draw-
backs of chemical pesticides are (i) low specificity and high toxicity and
(ii) their non-biodegradability. The active ingredient of the pesticide is
prone to degradation by various factors of the environment. Abiotic
conditions such as light, temperature, salinity and soil physico-chemical
properties influence the biological efficacy and the chemodynamics of
pesticide. The biotic factors like microorganisms, plants and some in-
sects have the biggest role in the degradation and persistence of pes-
ticide in the environment. Microorganisms have a vital role in the
maintenance of soil chemical equilibrium and the decomposition of
xenobiotic compounds in soil and water. The environment behavior of
pesticide and its toxicity information has been well documented by
Global Pesticide regulatory agencies like Environment Protection
Agency (EPA), United States Department of Agriculture, World Health
Organization (WHO) and Organization for Economic Co-operation and
Development (OECD). The continuous presence of parts per trillion
(ng/L) or parts per billion (μg/L) level of pesticides in the environment,
food commodities and body tissues is considered as a potential hazard.
The choice of nanopesticide is to overcome the potential problems set
by the overuse of pesticide and a possible reduction in the chemical
input to the environment. Scientists around the world have been par-
ticularly active over the past years to develop nanotechnology based
pesticide formulation for more specific actions. Few of the examples in
this area are summarized in Table 1. In a study reported by
Chakravarthy et al. (2012), metallic NPs viz., CdS, nano-Ag and nano-
TiO2 were tested against Spodoptera litura Fab. (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)
under controlled laboratory conditions. In an another study, Vinutha
et al. (2013) used nanomaterials for the management of Helicoverpa
A. Acharya and P.K. Pal NanoImpact 19 (2020) 100232

Table 1
Nanoparticles for pesticide delivery.
Applications Nanoparticles References

Delivery of chemical pesticides

Prochloraz (fungicide) Mesoporous silica-chitosan nanocomposite (~500 nm) Liang et al., 2018
Cypermethrin (insecticide) Alginate nanoparticles (~115–119 nm) Patel et al., 2018
Avermectin (insecticide) Cyclodextrin anchored hollow mesoporous silica nanoparticles (BJH mesopore Kaziem et al., 2018
volume = 0.31 cm3 g−1)
Avermectin Porous silica nanoparticles (15 nm) Li et al., 2007
Ethiprole or phenylpyrazole Polymeric NPs viz., poly-caprolactone (135 nm) Boehm et al., 2003
Cyhalothrin Solid lipid NPs (300 nm) Frederiksen et al., 2003
Tebucanazole/chlorothalonil Polyvinyl pyridine-co-styrene (100 nm) Liu et al., 2001
Imidacloprid Lignin-polyethylene glycol-ethylcellulose capsule Flores-Céspedes et al., 2012
Β-Cyfluthrin Polyethylene glycol capsule Loha et al., 2012
Etofenprox Chitosan capsule Hwang et al., 2011

Green pesticides delivery

Garlic essential oil Polyethylene glycol capsule Yang et al., 2009
Neem seed oil Alginate-glutaraldehyde capsule Kulkarni et al., 1999
Moringa oleifera extract Cashew gum particles Paula et al., 2012
Lippia Sidoides Essentioan oil Chitosan-angico gum particles Paula et al., 2010

Biopesticides delivery
Plant origin: nanosilica for insect control Artemisia Nanosilica (3–5 nm) Barik et al., 2008
arborescens
Essential oil encapsulation Solid lipid (200–294 nm) Lai et al., 2006
Microganisms: Lagenidium Silica (7–14 nm) Vandergheynst et al., 2007

Pesticide degradation
Lindane Iron sulfide (200 nm) Paknikar et al., 2005
Imidacloprid Titanium oxide (30 nm) Guan et al., 2008

armigera (Hubner). Again, Rouhani et al. (2012) used silver and zinc mosaic virus particles conferring resistance to the plant (Alkubaisi
NPs against Aphis nerii Boyer De Fonscolombe (Hemiptera: Aphididae). et al., 2015).

4.2.2. Nano materials to control plant fungal and viral diseases
Each year the world experiences huge loss in crop productivity due
to fungal destruction. Nanomaterials with specific anti-fungal activities
may solve this problem. Cobalt and nickel ferrite nanoparticles
(CoFe2O4 and NiFe2O4) were developed and found to show antimycotic
activity against three plant-pathogenic fungi viz., Fusarium oxysporum,
Colletotrichum gloeosporioides, and Dematophora necatrix and hence can
be used for plant disease management (Sharma et al., 2017). Green
synthesized copper nanoparticles were used as effective anti-fungal
agents under in vitro experiments, carried out against Fusarium solani,
Neofusicoccum sp., and Fusarium oxysporum. Studies suggested in-
tracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation to be the main
cause for such activity (Pariona et al., 2019). Previously, both silver
ions and silver nanoparticles were examined for their antifungal ac-
tivity against two plant-pathogenic fungi viz., Bipolaris sorokiniana and
Magnaporthe grisea and the results suggested positive effects (Jo et al.,
2009). Elmer et al., in their review have summarized the overall ap-
plication of nanoparticles in disease management (Elmer et al., 2018;
Elmer and White, 2018). Viral infections have always been one of the
most difficult barriers for crop production and these have put tre-
mendous threat to human food security. Unfortunately, lack of any
effective control strategy has made the situation worse. Nanoparticles,
because of their small size and higher efficacy can play a major role in
this direction. In this respect, fabricated zinc oxide (ZnO NPs) and silica
nanoparticles (SiO2 NPs) were used for the control of tobacco mosaic
virus (TMV) infection under in vitro and in vivo condition. It was ob-
served that TMV particles were aggregated and exhibited breakage of
outer layer when pretreated with these NPs for 2 h. This total mixture
when inoculated onto tobacco plants showed marked lower virus co-
lonization than the control group (Cai et al., 2019). Similarly, silver
nanoparticles sprayed bean leaves exhibited complete suppression of
sun-hemp rosette virus (Jain and Kothari, 2014). Viral resistance of
plants was also achieved via chitosan nanoparticles against mosaic
virus for alfalfa, snuff, peanut, potato, and cucumber. Poly-dispersed
gold nanoparticles have been found to dissolve the Barley yellow
4.2.3. Novel delivery agents for fertilizers and nutrients
The nutrition deficiency of the plants can be tackled by designing
smart delivery systems, which can systematically unload chemicals to
specific target sites in a highly controlled and remotely regulated
manner by avoiding several biological barriers. Nanofertilizer for-
mulations can substantially increase the crop productivity by enhancing
the efficiency, soil organic matter along with reducing imbalanced
fertilization and multi-nutrient deficiencies. Significant enhancements
in yields of cluster bean and pearl millet were observed with foliar
application of the nanophosphorus particles as fertilizer under arid
environment (Tarafdar, 2012). Phosphorous nanoparticles were pre-
pared by using tri‑calcium phosphate (Ca3P2O8) as precursor salt for
applications in agriculture (Tarafdar et al., 2012a). Similarly, it was
also observed that ZnO nanoparticles are very effective in the synthesis
of fungal polysaccharides and phosphatases compared with bulk ZnO
(Tarafdar et al., 2012b). Nanotechnological concepts can also be used to
increase the nitrogen use efficiency of conventional fertilizers by re-
ducing the nitrogen loss and increasing the uptake through porous
nanoscale parts of plants. In a study, Corradini et al. (2010) developed
chitosan nanoparticles suspensions containing N, P, and K fertilizers
and evaluated their interaction and stability for agricultural applica-
tions (Corradini et al., 2010). Similarly, Kottegoda et al. (2011) re-
ported synthesis of urea modified hydroxyapatite (HA) NPs for slow and
sustained release of nitrogen. The developed nanofertilizer showed re-
lease of nitrogen for 60 days as compared to other available fertilizers
from the market (Kottegoda et al., 2011). Mesoporous silica nano-
particles of sizes ~150 nm have been developed for the entrapment of
urea. Studies suggested ~15.5% of urea loading and demonstrated slow
and sustained release of urea in both soil and water (Wanyika et al.,
2012). Urea and monoammonium phosphate coated ZnO nanoparticles
showed higher zinc solubility and faster dissolution rate (Milani et al.,
2012). Organo–zeolites were used in agriculture for nitrogen capture,
storage and slow release and found to show controlled release of ni-
trogen compared to the ionic form of the zeolites (Leggo, 2000). Si-
milarly, use of urea- fertilized zeolite chips have also been reported for

5
A. Acharya and P.K. Pal NanoImpact 19 (2020) 100232

Table 2
Nanomaterials for delivery of nutrients and growth-promoting compounds to plants.
Nanoparticles Applications References

Macronutrient delivery agents

Nanoclay polymer composites (NCPCs) (NH4)2HPO4 and urea delivery Sarkar et al., 2015
Montmorillonite (MMT) clay Urea intercalation Pereira et al., 2012
Hydroxyapatite and thermoplastic starch/urea Urea delivery Giroto et al., 2015
Hydroxyapatite modified by urea (Gliricidia sepium) Urea delivery Kottegoda et al., 2011
Hydrogels containing PAM, methylcelluloseand calcium MMT Fertilizer delivery Bortolin et al., 2013
Chitosan (CS) and poly(methacrylic acid) nanocomposite NPK fertilizer delivery Corradini et al., 2010
Hollow mesoporous silica iron oxide nanocomposites Gibberellic acid (plant growth regulator) Li et al., 2019

Carbon-based nanomaterials
Biochar (charcoal) Enhanced carbon sequestration and soil structure Sigua et al., 2015
Biochar (charcoal) Reduced toxic effects of trace elements in crops Rizwan et al., 2016
PO43− loaded biochar To diminish PO43− leaching from fertilized soils Yao et al., 2011
Water soluble carbon nano-onions (wsCNOs) Increase in plant biomass for Cicer arietinum Sonkar et al., 2012
Single-walled carbon nanohorns (SWCNHs) Enhanced crop germination and development Lahiani et al., 2015

Iron-based nanomaterials
Nanosized zero valent iron (nZVI) (size ~25 ± 10 nm) Increased bioavailability of Fe and enhanced seed germination Libralato et al., 2016
Iron oxide NPs Enhanced root growth of G. max Alidoust and Isoda, 2013
Fe2O3 NPs (size ~30–40 nm) Stem and root elongation Jeyasubramanian et al., 2016

slow release of nitrogen fertilizers (Millán et al., 2008). In another
study, hexadecyltrimethylammonium modified zeolites were used as
fertilizer to enhance its capacity in nitrate retention and control release
of the same (Li, 2003; Pickering et al., 2002). Nanocapsules of fertilizers
containing nano and subnano-composites have been used to regulate
the release of nutrients (Liu et al., 2006). Studies also suggested im-
proved crop yield for fertilizer incorporated in co-chelate nanotubes
(DeRosa et al., 2010). Table 2 briefly describes different NMs used for
the delivery of nutrients. Iron has been known to play key role in plant
physiology viz., in respiration and in the formation of chlorophyll and
its deficiency in plants may lead to chlorosis. Thus, optimum delivery of
iron in plants is indeed for their growth. In this respect, nanoparticle
based iron fertilizers have shown promising outcome. When iron oxide
nanoparticles were treated at different concentrations (0, 5, 10, 20, 30,
and 40 mM) on Catharanthus roseus for 70 days, significant enhance-
ments in plant growth parameters, photosynthetic pigments, and total
protein contents were observed (Askary et al., 2017). Rui et al. eval-
uated the effectiveness of iron oxide nanoparticles nanofertilizer on
Arachis hypogaea and compared the data with the traditional Fe ferti-
lizers. The results suggested that Fe2O3 NPs increased plant root length,
height, biomass, and SPAD values (Rui et al., 2016). Nano‑iron pyrite
seed dressing were also used in beetroot, carrot, fenugreek etc. which
resulted significant yield enhancement for the above crops (Das et al.,
2016b). It was observed that nano iron (Fe) complex resulted positive
plant growth effect on tobacco under low Fe supply (Bastani et al.,
2018). Similarly, Molybdenum (Mo) is one of the essential micro-
nutrient, plays many important roles like plant nitrogen assimilation
(Mendel and Hänsch, 2002). Thus, deficiency of Mo can increase the
accumulation of NO3¯ in plant, which is hazardous to human health
(Elrys et al., 2018). In recent past, many NPs of Mo have been devel-
oped to increase its use efficiency. It has been reported that synthesized
Mo NPs is more effective to increase the nitrate reductase (NR) activity
compared with elemental Mo in Spinacia oleracea, and as a consequence
of that accumulation of NO3¯ is also reduced (Abbasifar et al., 2020). In
another study, it has also been observed that foliar application of mo-
lybdenum oxide nanoparticles (MoO3 NPs) at 40 ppm increase seed
yield by ~82–84% of Phaseolus vulgaris (Osman et al., 2020).
As already has been discussed, polymeric nanoparticles were used
for the coating of biofertilizers and these nanofertilizer formulations
showed strong resistance towards desiccation and leaching. In this re-
spect, the water-in-oil emulsification methodology has been success-
fully used for encapsulation and transfer of different microorganisms to
the targeted sites. This method also reduces the evaporation, increase
the cell viability, improve controlled release kinetics. Nanocarriers
synthesized using alginate/chitosan (ALG/CS) and chitosan/tripoly-
phosphate (CS/TPP) were developed for the delivery of gibberellic acid
(GA3) as plant growth regulator. The nanoparticles were found stable
up to 60 days. Bioactivity assays using Phaseolus vulgaris suggested that
ALG/CS-GA3 NPs were effective for increasing the leaf area and
chlorophyll and carotenoids content (Pereira et al., 2017).
4.2.4. Application of nanotechnology in seed science
Productivity of any crop is dependent on the quality of seeds. In
most of the cases, the in vitro seed germination percentage was thor-
oughly checked before handing over to farmers; unfortunately, the
expected results were hardly reproduced in the field. Thus, technology
driven smart seed germination process is indeed need of the hour.
Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have been reported to penetrate the hard coat
of germinating tomato seeds and exhibited enhancement in growth.
Similarly, when multiwall carbon nanotube (MWCNTs) were either
sprayed on the seed surface or mixed in the growth medium of three
different crops viz., barley, soybean and corn, the percentage of seed
germination was found to increase (Lahiani et al., 2013). Nanomaterials
can also be used to protect seeds from the seed born diseases during
germination process. It has been found that treatment of nanoscale ZnO
of ~25 nm at 1000 ppm concentration promoted both seed germination
and seedling vigor of peanut (Prasad et al., 2012). Again, nano-TiO2 at
0.25–4% concentration was found to enhance the germination rate and
vigor indexes of aged spinach seeds (Zheng et al., 2005). Further, Ti NPs
at 20 g/L concentration increased ear mass and seed number, biomass,
stem elongation, flowering, yield, starch and gluten content in wheat
(Jaberzadeh et al., 2013).
4.2.5. Biosensors to detect pathogens/contaminations
Biosensor is a device which converts the biological response to an
electrical response for quantitative data analysis via a microprocessor.
The key functional components of this device use living organism or
biological molecules, which acts as a communicating device (bio-re-
cognition unit), suitable transducer and the signal readability. The use
of nanobiosensors allow easy sensing compared to other traditional
methods with increased sensitivity and specificity, decreasing quick and
precise detection time and most importantly allowing real-time signal
monitoring using miniaturized portable devices. Additionally, nano-
biosensors can be used to detect both single or multiple analytes which
can be of potential threat to plants, animals and human. The in-
corporation of nanomaterials in sensors also helps to introduce ad-
vanced signal transduction technologies (Paddle, 1996; Khanna, 2008;
Li et al., 2010; Otles and Yalcin, 2012). The major applications of

6
A. Acharya and P.K. Pal
nanobiosensors in agriculture sector includes direct or indirect detec-
tion of pesticides, drug residues, food-borne pathogenic microorgan-
isms, toxin contaminants, and heavy metal ions etc. This technology has
also been extended to monitor plant growth, antibiotic resistance, crop
stress, soil condition, nutrient content or food quality (Tarafdar et al.,
2013; Teodoro et al., 2010). Hu et al. (2010), reported the detection of
organophosphorus pesticides using a nanomagnetic particle in an en-
zyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) test (Hu et al., 2010). Walia
and Acharya (2014) reported fluorescent nanosensors for the detection
of organochlorine pesticide dicofol (Walia and Acharya, 2014). The
same group reported gold nanoparticle based colorimetric nanosensor
for organophosphorus pesticide dimethoate (Dar et al., 2016). Detec-
tion of other pesticides has been done by amperometric-based nano-
sensors (Yan et al., 2013; Xu et al., 2013; Lin et al., 2013; Antiochia
et al., 2013; Nasirizadeh et al., 2015).
At present, nanoparticles of metal and metal oxides, nonmetals,
carbon nanomaterials, and functionalized forms of other polymeric NPs
have been studied for their role in plant pathology. Lamsal et al. (2011)
found nano-Ag applied at 100 μg/mL to peppers before anthracnose
outbreaks effectively suppressed the disease. Jagana et al. (2017) sug-
gested the prospect of postharvest treatments with nano-Ag. The bio-
synthesized nano-Ag from plant extracts when treated with banana
fruits at varying concentrations showed postharvest control of Colleto-
trichum musae. It was observed that the disease severity was lowest
(6.7%) at the highest rate of 2000 μg/mL nano-Ag, with the untreated
control at 75.6%. Giannousi et al. (2013) engineered nano-CuO, Cu2O,
and Cu/Cu2O composites and compared their efficacy against registered
commercial Cu-based fungicides, for their ability to suppress Phy-
tophthora infestans in tomato. Results suggested that the nano-Cu pro-
ducts were equal or superior to the commercial Cu-based products. The
antimicrobial activity of Zn nanoparticles to plant pathogens has also
been examined. Most in vitro assays have found that nano-Zn inhibits a
range of fungal pathogens, including A. alternata, B. cinerea, F. oxy-
sporum, M. plumbeus, P. expansum, R. solani, R. stolonifera, and S. scler-
otiorum (He et al., 2011; Sardella et al., 2017; Wani and Shah, 2012), as
well as the nematode M. incognita (Kaushik and Dutta, 2017).
4.2.6. Nano materials to control heavy metal contamination in soil
Waste water treatment, specifically removal of toxic heavy metals
from contaminated water has become a major challenge for agriculture
sector. Heavy metals viz., Hg, Pb, Cu etc. possess significant threat to
human health since these metals can be accumulated biologically in the
food chain. In this respect, several carbon-based (Lim et al., 2018;
Ihsanullah et al., 2016), silica-based, metal and metal oxide based
(Ming et al., 2012; Wang, 2012) nanoparticles have shown promising
results, and these have been discussed in detail in several literature
reports.
4.2.7. Bio-nanocomposites from agricultural residues
Since the beginning of the 20th century, fibers isolated from natural
sources viz., plant woods are used as strengthening materials. Being
renewable in nature and due to their strong physico-chemical proper-
ties, these biocomposites are primary contender for the replacement of
already available materials, made of synthetic fibre reinforced compo-
sites which are being used in the industry in an increasing quantity. A
large tone of agricultural residues which include rice, corn, soybean,
wheat etc. are produced worldwide on daily basis, though only a certain
percentage is used as feedstock and energy production. Cellulose with
1011 tons of annual turnover is a fibrous, semi-crystalline and the most
abundant natural biopolymer on Earth composed of the β(1–4) glyco-
sidic bond. Compact microfibrils of cellulose are arranged in an ordered
manner and these are stabilized by different hydrogen bonds.
Nanocellulose or cellulose nanocrystals, which can be converted from
cellulose are highly crystalline in nature which gives them high tensile
strength. These cellulose nanocrystals have been used for the devel-
opment of bio-based polymers. These applications have unlocked the
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NanoImpact 19 (2020) 100232
potential of underutilized renewable material and helped to grow a
non-food based market parallel to the agriculture industry by devel-
oping eco-safe, price and performance competitive bio-nanocomposites.
Further these natural fibers can also be used for packaging, automotive,
textile and medical applications. Similarly, nanosized lignocellulosic
materials have also been used for the production value added materials.
4.2.8. High through put nanobiotechnological advancements for crop
improvement
Nano-biotechnological advancements towards the ability to se-
quence DNA in nano fabricated gel-free systems are expected to en-
hance the rapid DNA sequencing. Combined with other powerful
technologies viz., association genetic analysis of the cultivated crops,
high throughput crop germplasm DNA sequencing data, along with the
quantitative data analysis of the gene pool for the cultivated crops and
the wild relatives to identify different molecular markers. Similarly,
nanofabrication techniques may be used for different applications viz.,
genomic sequencing, screening of genes responsible for polymorphism
which might impact the phenotype of the plants and widespread survey
of the change in the gene expression patterns when these organisms are
exposed to biotic/abiotic stress. Similar, advanced chips can also be
used for protein microarray studies to discover important protein bio-
markers which indicate disease type, stage etc. to access the impact and
toxicity of pesticides. This will also help to quantitatively analyze
production of different proteins across cell types and will provide in-
formation related to developmental stages of both healthy and diseased
stages of cells.
4.3. Nanotechnology for crop improvement
At present, crop improvement is the most urgent task for plant
breeder to meet the burgeoning demand of plant-derived products. The
cutting-edge biotechnological technique like Next-generation sequen-
cing (NGS) is being used to expedite the crop improvement programme.
NGS technique is also used in Genome Assisted Breeding, which is an
integrated approach for identification and selection of genetic varia-
tions (Varshney et al., 2005). Pest, pathogen and stress resistant crop
development can be achieved via alternation of gene expression and
this can be achieved by the targeted DNA and RNA delivery to the
plants (Gelvin, 2003; Price and Gatehouse, 2008). However, challenges
for the development of plant targeted delivery systems include poor cell
membrane penetration and nucleus targeting etc. (Ghormade et al.,
2011). The methods used for genetic transformation of plants are viral
vectors for gene delivery, microinjection, agrobacterium mediated
transformation and microprojectile bombardment (Christou et al.,
1988; Gelvin, 2003; Ghormade et al., 2011). The efficiency of these
system is very low, which is about 0.01–20%, and applicable only for
dicotyledonous plant (Sivamani et al., 2009). Nevertheless, the con-
vergence of biotechnology with nanotechnology helps in this direction
(Joga et al., 2016; Lyons, 2010). Now, NPs are used to develop efficient
gene transformation vehicles, and nanobiotechnology approaches is
expected to provide new pathways to completely replace the genetic
material of one species by another (Torney et al., 2007). Silicon dioxide
NPs have been devised to deliver DNA fragments/sequences to the to-
bacco (dicotyledonous) and corn (monocotyledonous) plants without
any detrimental side effects (Galbraith, 2007). Gold NPs (5–25 nm)
embedded carbon matrices have also been used for the delivery of DNA
during transformation of plant cells, which carry higher amount of
genetic material (Vijayakumar et al., 2010). The era in genetic en-
gineering has been initiated with nanomaterials-based specific delivery
of CRISPR/Cas9 single guide RNA (sgRNA) technology (Shang et al.,
2019), and this technique has successfully been used for genome editing
in plants (Miller et al., 2017). Thus, applications nanobiotechnoly may
significantly contribute to meet the future demand of plant-derived
products through desirable modification of plants. Table 3 briefly
summarizes the applicability of agriculture nanotechnology to different
 A. Acharya and P.K. Pal

Table 3
List of nanomaterials and their uses in different category of crops.
Crop category Name of species Nanomaterials used Responses References

Cereal Hordeum vulgare, Triticum aestivum, Zea Multiwall carbon nanotube (MWCNTs) Increased seed germination per cent Lahiani et al., 2013; Srivastava and Rao, 2014
mays
Triticum aestivum Ti NPs; TiO2; ZnO Increased seed number, biomass, stem elongation, yield, starch and Jaberzadeh et al., 2013; Feizi et al., 2012; Du et al.,
gluten content 2019
AgNPs Improved growth and tolerance to heat stress Iqbal et al., 2019
Zea mays Fe/SiO2 Enhanced plants growth and biomass accumulation, enhanced Disfani et al., 2017
germination rare
CuO Increased 51% plant growth Adhikari et al., 2016
Oryza sativa TiO2 and SiO2 Mitigated Cd toxicity and improved growth and inhibiting Cd Rizwan et al., 2019
translocation
SiO2 NPs Alleviated heavy metal toxicity and improved growth Wang et al., 2016
Pennisetum glaucum Au Improved seed germination and growth of seedlings Parveen et al., 2016
Pulse Glycine max MWCNTs Enhanced germination rate and growth of seedlings Lahiani et al., 2013
Cicer arietinum; FeS2 Increased germination and crop yield Srivastava et al., 2014a, 2014b

8
Pisum sativum FeO Increased seed test weight Delfani et al., 2014
Oil seed Brassica napus Al Improved root growth Lin and Xing, 2007
Arachis hypogaea ZnO Promoted seed germination and seedling vigor Prasad et al., 2012
MWCNTs Increased seed germination percentage Srivastava and Rao, 2014
Fe/SiO2 Enhanced plants growth and biomass accumulation Disfani et al., 2017
Brassica juncea and Sesamum indicum FeS2 Increased germination percent and crop yield Srivastava et al., 2014a, 2014b; Das et al., 2016b
Vegetable Raphanus sativus Al Improved root growth Lin and Xing, 2007
Cucumis sativus, Lactuca sativa Au Improved germination rate Barrena et al., 2009
Spinacia oleracea nano-TiO2 enhanced the germination rate and vigor indexes Zheng et al., 2005
Lycopersicum esculentum Mill SiO2 Improved seed germination Stampoulis et al., 2009
Pinacia oleracea, Daucus carota FeS2 Increased germination rate and crop yield Srivastava et al., 2014a, 2014b; Das et al., 2016b
Spice Trigonella foenum-graecum Ag Enhanced plant growth and diosgenin synthesis Jasim et al., 2016
Coriandrum sativum CeO2 Increased biomass, catalase activity in shoots and ascorbate peroxidise Morales et al., 2013
activity in roots
Allium sativum MWCNTs Increased and improved seed germination % Srivastava and Rao, 2014
Fruit Prunus domestica ZnO, CuO and Ag NPs Suppressed grey mold symptoms caused by B. cinerea Malandrakis et al., 2019
Phoenix dactylifera CNTs Increased shoot length and number of leaf Taha et al., 2016
Industrial crop Nicotiana tabacum ZnO increased metabolites, enzymatic activities Tirani et al., 2019
Medicinal and Aromatic Stevia rebaudiana TiO2 Increased fresh and dry weight of biomass. Rezaizad et al., 2019
NanoImpact 19 (2020) 100232
A. Acharya and P.K. Pal
crops.
4.4. Engineering issues
Agricultural Engineering deals with the design, construction and
improvement of farming equipment and machinery. The integration of
new technology with farming makes it possible to provide novel solu-
tion to the already existing problems in agricultural sector.
Nanotechnology can play very significant role in this area too.
4.4.1. Nanotechnology in agro-machinery applications
Nanotechnology has played significant role in the field of agri-
cultural machinery development which include design and develop-
ment of structural units for machines and agricultural tools to improve
their resistance against aerial oxidation based corrosion and ultraviolet
rays. Nano-coating based materials have been used to provide strong
mechanical support for different parts of agro-machines. The futuristic
application in this field includes inclusion of nano-biosensors in smart
machines for precise weed control.
4.4.2. Nanotechnological intervention for water management
The utilization and purification of wastewater is an emergent issue
due to its harmful effects on environment which needs urgent attention
in modern environmental and agricultural practices. The availability
and continuous supply of clean and fresh water have increasingly be-
come a major challenge for the human civilization as well as for in-
dustrial applications including agriculture (Vӧrӧsmarty et al., 2010).
Nanotechology, with its unique size advantage offers the potential for
the development of functional nanomaterials for the treatment of pol-
luted water by different organic and inorganic contaminants, toxic
metal ions and biological organisms. Ultraviolet, ozone, chlorine di-
oxide etc. are being commonly used for microbial disinfection systems
like for water purification but requirement of large infrastructures re-
stricts their use for developing countries. Silver nanoparticles possess
both bactericidal and viricidal activity due to reactive oxygen species
production, which finally results in DNA damage. Recently, researches
have synthesized silver and gold nanoparticles with improved anti-
microbial and anticancerous activity. Nanofiber membranes are ap-
pearing as promising solution for water purification. Nanomaterials
have also been used for photocatalytic degradation of bacterial con-
taminants, removal of heavy metal ions, desalination etc.
4.4.3. Identity Preservation (IP), tracking of agricultural products and
barcode technology via nanodevices
Identity preservation (IP) is defined as a “system that creates in-
creased value by providing customers with information about the
practices and activities used to produce a particular crop or other
agricultural product” (Farhang, 2009). Nanoscale IP will provide
marked enhancement in quality assurance of agricultural commodities
(Scott and Chen, 2003). This technology will help in quality main-
tenance of agro-products and proper monitoring of production system.
IP also allows the stakeholders to access the information, records and
supplier protocols. Nano-barcode technology, due to their possibility of
formation of a large number of combinations, allows the identification
tagging of agriculture and livestock products. For the detection of mi-
crometer-sized glass barcodes, UV lamp and optical microscope are
used. These barcodes are formed by doping the corresponding materials
with rare earth containing metal ions (Mathew et al., 2009). Modern
scientific research has developed nanobarcodes with particles having
easy machine readable and encodeable properties. Gold, silver nano-
particles are being used for the manufacturing of these types of bar-
codes.
4.4.4. Nanotechnology in storage and distribution of agriculture produce
Storage of agricultural produces is as important for production to
maintain the sustainable supply chain. However, agricultural pests can
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NanoImpact 19 (2020) 100232
cause pre-harvest and post-harvest losses of produces. Nanomaterials
are widely applied for storage and transportation of food materials. In
this context, nanoformulated allelochemicals have been found as a good
option for controlling Sitophilus oryzae, a major stored grain pest
(Kumar et al., 2017). Spoilage of agricultural produces due to growth of
pathogenic bacteria during storage is another major concern. Never-
theless, now silver NPs are embedded in the plastic for production of
food storage bins for minimizing harmful bacterial growth
(Bumbudsanpharoke and Ko, 2015; Prasad et al., 2017). The plastic
polymers, which are the most used materials in the food packaging
industry can be incorporated or coated with nanomaterials to improve
mechanical or functional properties (Berekaa, 2015). Now “nano-
sensors” are being also used with packing material for detecting the
oxidation process in food industry. Moreover, nanosensors in combi-
nation with NP-based intelligent inks or reactive nanolayers may pro-
vide smart recognition and information of relevant food product
(Prasad et al., 2017).
5. Penetration and transport of nanoparticles in plants
The entry of nanoparticles to the environment can be facilitated by
the plants and this functions as a significant route for the bioaccumu-
lation of the nanoparticles into food chain. The access of nanoparticles
in plant body is mostly restricted by the barrier called cell wall. Small
pore diameter of cell wall which ranges from 5 to20 nm mostly govern
the intracellular presence of nanoparticles (Fleischer et al., 1999). Na-
noparticles of sizes less than this pore diameter can easily cross the cell
wall and reach the plasma membrane, though there are some reports
that particles of 40–50 nm can also cross the cell wall barrier (Sabo-
Attwood et al., 2012; Taylor et al., 2014). It was established that while
interacting with the NPs, plant cell can either enlarge the pore diameter
or generate new pores in cell wall to enhance nanoparticle uptake.
Other entry mechanism involves crossing of nanoparticles to the
membrane via transport carrier proteins or ion channels.
The physio-chemical properties of NPs and plant physiology sig-
nificantly contribute to the interaction between NPs and plants.
Different ways of applications also have major role in determining how
effectively the absorption of NPs will occur viz., nutrients and water are
mostly being transferred by roots whereas leaves are specialized for gas
exchange. Studies suggested that different crops respond to the NPs viz.,
magnetic carbon-coated, titanium dioxide or gold nanoparticles etc. in
a different way which resulted in different accumulation patterns inside
the plants (Zhu et al., 2012). After the internalization by the plant body,
NPs follow two pathways for their entry to the tissues such as the
apoplast and the symplast. An excellent review in this respect has more
detailed description of the subject (Pérez-de-Luque, 2017).
6. Nanotoxicology in agri-food sector
The behavior and interaction mechanism of nanomaterials inside
living organisms are not very well understood which restricts their use
in agricultural purposes. Nanotoxicology has become a major concern
for all areas resulting less consumptions of nanomaterial involved
products. Nanomaterials can exhibit severe effects on soil microbial
communities and diversities, soil enzyme activities, carbon and ni-
trogen cycling etc. Some authors have reported toxic effects of Cu, CuO,
TiO2, Zn, ZnO, Ag and Fe2O3 nanoparticles on wheat (Rafique et al.,
2018), rice (Shaw et al., 2014), maize (Zhang et al., 2015), legumes
(Feng et al., 2013), tomato (Begum et al., 2011) etc. In most of the
cases, nanoparticles were found to impede the overall plant growth,
root and shoot growth and also reduce the biomass yield. It was also
observed that nanoparticles affect negatively towards photosynthesis
where these reduce the overall chlorophyll contents and increase the
peroxydase and catalase activities in roots of treated plants.
A. Acharya and P.K. Pal
7. Environmental concerns on the application of nanomaterials in
agriculture sector
The unique small size of nanoparticles which gives immense benefit
for their use also contribute to their toxicity issues with several adverse
effects. This effects ranges from environmental hazards to human and
animal health in general. Thus the safety evaluation of the developed
nanomaterials has increasingly become important. Unfortunately, de-
spite fast entry of nanoproducts to the commercialized market, there is
no nano-specific guidelines exist which exclusively include all of these
concerns. Most of the regulatory agencies are still collecting the in-
formation form published reports but due to the lack of proper legal and
scientific tools, the gap remains. The U.S. Food and Drug
Administration (FDA), on the other hand claims to control the ‘pro-
ducts, not technologies. However, the FDA expects that many of these
developed products will come under their jurisdiction; thus, the Office
of Combination Products is expected to take the responsibility for the
same. The bureau regulates a large vary of products including nano-
technology based products. FDA initiated the Nanotechnology Task
Force (Task Force) in 2006 to help the consumers. On the other hand,
the European Commission too is involved in evaluating the effect of
nanomaterials on human health. The concerned authority thoroughly
examines the protocol and lists it accordingly; additionally, it also
proposes revisions to EU guidelines in appropriate sectors. The use of
nanoproducts in pest control is subjected to various environmental
risks. Nanoparticles are reactive with various environment components
due to their high surface area, which may lead to an unpredictable
outcome in the environment. The various kinds of nanopesticides from
emulsion to nanodispersion have diverse environmental interactions
due to the difference in the chemical components and method of pre-
paration. A clear understanding on the environment safety, fate of na-
nopesticide and its active ingredient is mandatory before commercial
application. The Institute for Food and Agricultural Standards has
suggested standards for nanotechnology research and development
(Available from: http://www.msu.edu/~ifas/). The active participa-
tion from other NGOs and citizen groups is also important, in this re-
spect.
8. Nanotechnology in agri-food sector: regulatory aspects
NMs are either indirectly or openly covered by various sections of
legislation. Currently, European Union (EU) legislation clearly states
NMs to be included under different regulations of related to consumers
and products. Other pieces of legislation are presently under im-
plementation process to better address NMs, such as Novel Food
Regulation (European Commission, 2013), or the Annexes to the
REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of
Chemicals) Regulation (European Commission, 2012). The regulatory
solutions of nanomaterials used for the food and feed production reflect
internationally differing approach: where only the EU and Switzerland
have been found to incorporate specific nano oriented provisions in the
legislations. It is expected that the mutual collaborations amongst
various countries across the globe is required for better sharing of the
information and also to increase the general awareness for mankind
(Amenta et al., 2015). Few important points which need immediate
action include, (a) legislative provisions that explicitly address the de-
finition of NMs in clear term, (b) framing of permissible acts for pes-
ticide hazard assessment, (c) food and feed risk assessment, (d) label-
ling and reporting schemes for NMs etc.
9. Future policy actions
Due to its enormous potential, nanotechnology has developed as a
progressive technology with high impacts. The applications of this field
ranges from agro-food sector to managing different stresses and many
more. But the common awareness of the potential hazards during the
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NanoImpact 19 (2020) 100232
handling of these nanomaterials is indeed poor amongst public in
general which may otherwise pose severe human health and environ-
mental risks. Hence, it is for the best interest of all, that planned re-
search and proper formulations of policies and related actions should be
framed by accumulating relevant scientific data.
9.1. Strategic research on agriculture nanotechnology
Futuristic strategic research should be focused on the following
points; (i) strengthening of controlled synthesis of nanoparticles via
green synthesis, (ii) in depth understanding of the large amount of
unknown and uncharacterized nanoparticles produced by mycorrhizal
fungi and root endophytes, which possibly play an important role in
plant productivity, (iii) how nanoparticles interact with plant system
and understanding the transport mechanism of nanoparticles inside
plant body, (iv) synthesis, characterization and applications of biolo-
gically synthesized nanoparticles for their use in economically im-
portant plants, (v) understanding the non-target effects of nano-
particles, (vi) critical analysis on the side effects of NPs on different
environmental parameters, (vii) advanced technologies for the coating
of seeds with micronutrient enriched nanoparticles for the customized
seed production, (viii) development of nanosensor based soil, plant,
water and pesticide testing tools, (ix) calculation of return of invest-
ment (ROI) for nanotechnology based agriculture practices on pilot
scale as well as for field trials.
9.2. Looking ahead: policy options and actions
Amongst various policy options, few are listed below which need
urgent attention;
(1) There is a need to build institutions with relevant expertise and
facilities which work closely in biosafety evaluation of nano-
particles. These institutes will work in an integrated way to all the
chemical and biological research institutes for better documenta-
tion of scientific results.
(2) Clear guidelines of monitoring and evaluation of nanoparticle based
systems should be strictly followed by Food Safety and Standards
Authority across the globe according to FAO/WHO standards.
(3) All the nano-based food products should be evaluated for safety
concerns before their commercial release, and corresponding data
should be recorded from a large number of samples.
(4) Nanomaterials based toxicity to the aquatic organisms should be
evaluated and documented properly.
(5) Skilled and certified manpower should be created to endorse su-
perior nanoproducts and to minimize field problems.
(6) Economic contribution towards nanotechnological applications in
agriculture should be strengthened. The public-private-partnership
model should also contribute to the research by proper funding and
resource sharing.
(7) Community consciousness related to the possibility and role of
nanotechnology should be initiated through different interactive
programmes.
10. Conclusions
Agriculture being the only source of human's food, is expected to
have significant impact with the inclusion of well-known technologies.
Thus, it is essential to take an up-to-date information in agriculture.
Agriculture needs to modernize and innovate to meet the increasing
demands in food of the growing global population. Developing coun-
tries are still facing problems in lack of understanding of high value of
food products. Agriculture nanotechnology, with all its recent ad-
vancements, promises to contribute in a major way to the agri-food
sector, but toxicity concerns of many NPs are still under investigation. A
large number of problems associated with conventional agriculture viz.,
A. Acharya and P.K. Pal
less bioavailability of mineral micronutrients to plants, poor control on
release of micronutrients, high loss rate of fertilizers, less use efficiency
of plant nutrients etc. can be solved via modern nanotechnological
solutions. This makes limited applications for these NMs as their effect
on human health is not well characterized. It is expected that a com-
prehensive data base should be established across the globe through
international cooperation which will guide the future generation to
form exclusive legislations and regulation for the exploitation of this
technology. The applications of NMs for plant based applications has
seen drastic increase in the last few years; but a complete understanding
of the process is far from reality as agriculture deals with > 7000 cul-
tivated plant species. The fact that plant physiology strongly affects the
interaction of nanoparticles with the plant body, contributes sig-
nificantly in the alternation of the results from specie to species. To add
to this, due to the poor cost benefit economics of NP productions,
farmers are reluctant to use these as an alternative system in the fields.
Some interesting results are mostly restricted to few plants/organisms
in vitro or growth chamber but due to their high initial inputs (both, in
time and money), these are seldom reproduced in the field. Finally,
consumers tend to put their doubts for a technology unacquainted to
them, so it is essential to clarify them what nanotechnology is and what
it serve for the agriculture sector. Overall it can be commented that we
should not be worried about food and agriculture nanotechnology. To
reach to the field, the applications of nanotechnology may take some
time but continued funding and understanding of the subject will help
this field to grow.
Declaration of competing interest
The authors declare no competing financial interests.
Acknowledgements
The authors are thankful to the Director, CSIR-IHBT for his support
and encouragement. AA acknowledges the financial support from DST,
India (EMR/2016/003027, GAP 0214) and CSIR, India (MLP0201). PKP
acknowledges financial support from CSIR (MLP147). The CSIR-IHBT
communication number of this manuscript is 4546.
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