Nano-Priming against Abiotic Stress: A Way Forward towards Sustainable Agriculture

Abstract

Agriculture is directly linked to human life, providing food for survival and health. It is threatened by a number of challenges, such as climate change, resource depletion, and abiotic stresses, including heavy metals (HMs), salinity, drought, etc. Various strategies have been employed to palliate the phytotoxic effects of these stressors from the soil–plant system. Nanotechnological approaches have emerged as a promising tool for increasing crop productivity and promoting sustainable agriculture. Interestingly, the seed nano-priming approach has shown potential against all of the above-mentioned abiotic stress factors and has improved crop productivity. The application of nanoparticles (NPs) via seed priming is an innovative and cost-effective approach that improves seed germination and subsequent plant growth by activating plant physiological processes and providing tolerance against various stresses. The seed priming with NPs induces electron exchange and increases surface reaction capabilities related to plant cell and tissue components. This review aims to provide an overview of recent advances and research findings on seed nano-priming and the possible mechanism of plant stress-tolerance augmentation against various stresses. Furthermore, we also shed light on gaps in studies conducted in previous years, which will open new avenues for future research.