Chapter 9 - The role of nanoparticles in sustainable agriculture

Abstract

According to the literature, significant advances in the development of nanotechnology for agriculture have taken place over the last decade. So far, according to the Web of Science database (July 15, 2020), 1936 publications on “nanotechnology” and “agriculture” have been published so far. The agricultural application of nanotechnology is mainly considered in five aspects, such as (1) plant growth stimulation, (2) crop productivity increase, (3) plant protection, (4) soil quality improvement, and (5) smart monitoring (pathogen and pesticide residue detection), but still it remains an insufficiently explored/investigated area in the research community. This growing interest in the application of nanotechnology in agriculture results from the rising demand for food production and care for the natural environmental. So far, mineral fertilizers and pesticides were mainly applied to boost agricultural productivity, but the intensive use of agrochemicals may pose a threat to human health and the environment. Therefore, for sustainable agriculture, novel agrotechnological solutions are indispensable to produce more high-quality food in an environment friendly way. Nanoproducts such as nanofertilizers, plant growth regulators, nanopesticides, and nanosensors can improve agricultural production. In this chapter, special attention was paid to metal/metal oxide nanoparticles which have wide applications as nanofertilizers and nanopesticides. Due to their beneficial properties such us slow/control delivery of nutrients or active compounds, reduced losses, increased bioavailability of nutrients to plants and effectiveness against pests, sustainable development in the agricultural sector can be achieved.