Chapter 9 - Behavior of agricultural crops in relation to nanomaterials under adverse environmental conditions

Abstract

It has been predicted that the Earth’s temperature will accelerate in near future, and thereby the global agricultural production is bound to face several challenges under constantly changing environments. It is often reported that the adverse environmental conditions limit the crop productivity and, thus, threaten the food security. Currently, the use of nanomaterials (NMs) such as some metalloids and metal oxides of Ag, Cu, Si, Zn, B, F, and Mn, in addition to chitosan, carbon nanotubes, and fullerenol, has received much attention and has shown their application in different fields of agricultural sector. These applications include soil and water nanoremediation, crop nanonutrition, crop nanoprotection, mitigation of abiotic stresses, and achieving thereby agri-sustainability. In different crop species, NMs application reduced reactive oxygen species (ROS), malondialdehyde content, and chlorophyll degradation, and it accelerates antioxidative enzymes activities, photosynthetic parameters, expression of Rubisco, and chlorophyll-binding protein genes. Overall, NMs have shown improved crop growth and protection under adverse conditions. On the other hand, the fate and transformation of NMs in agroecosystems also make important issues as these materials under certain conditions may generate ROS and nitrogen and exhibit toxic effects. Further studies are, therefore, needed at cellular and molecular levels in order to determine the behavior of NMs in mitigating and/or inducing stress in important agricultural crops species. The mode of action of this behavior also needs more elucidations under different agroecosystems. This chapter is an attempt to evaluate the behavior of agricultural crops in relation to NMs under abiotic stress conditions imposed by changing environment.